Book One: Dawn of a New Age
by DragonheartODST
Summary: Humanity had proven resilient during the Human-Covenant War. Now with the discovery of the stargates, the Caelum Federation plans to explore the entire galaxy. But when they come across an enemy just as powerful as them wll the Federation be able to stand against it or will the Federation be split by civil war? Can the actions of one team be able to save everyone they know?
1. Timeline

Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxy Timeline

**Pre-history:** The last Great Time War occurs and is sealed off from the rest of history.

A group of people known as the Alterans experience a fundamental split in their society that leads to civil war. The Precursors focus more on scientific discovery and their cousins, the Ori, focus more on religious dogma.

The Precursors refuse to use harsher methods to make their cousins turn from their religious views, so the Precursors flee their home galaxy and in time arrive at the Milky Way while a smaller group who follow a middle ground, known as the Celestials, flee to what is now known as the Andromeda Galaxy.

**_The Age of Creation_**

**1,000,000,000 BC:** The Precursors establish an empire across the stars of the Milky Way galaxy by building both the stargates and the mass effect relays becoming the pre-eminent species in the galaxy at the time.

**990,000,000:** They seed life throughout the Milky Way galaxy and discover several other races that already call the galaxy home including the Asgard, the Nox, the Furlings, the Ossians, and the Leviathans.

**900,000,000:** The Precursors, Asgard, Nox, and Furlings, due to their technological advancements and their willingness to resort to peace instead of war more often than not, form the Alliance of Great Races.

**300,000,000:** At their height, the Precursor Empire controls the entire Milky Way galaxy and in an attempt to help other species the Precursors uplift the Forerunner race, testing them to see if they are worthy of inheriting the Mantle of Responsibility.

**200,000,000:** The Forerunners fail the test and prove to be dangerous not only to themselves but to others as well. They are slated for devolution to see if by starting over they might be able to become worthy on their own while the Precursors become more interested in other species in the galaxy.

**155,000,000:** The Forerunners find out and engineer a plague that destroys the majority of the Precursor population. The Precursors try to fight but in the short war that follows, the Precursors are destroyed and the rest flee on their city-ship _Atlantis _to the Pegasus galaxy. Due to damage to the hyper-drive system, the ship won't arrive for thirty-five million years.

**150,000,300:** The war causes much damage to different species. The majority of the Ossians devolve into parasitic beasts called Xenomorphs, while the Leviathans steal some Precursor technology in an attempt to gain the upper hand against both the Precursors and the Forerunners.

**150,000,000:** A small group of Precursors that have stayed behind seek revenge on the Forerunners and engineer a parasite that will become known as the Flood that will test not only the Forerunners but others as well. These survivors stay behind on Earth and unite with the ancestors of ancient humanity.

_**The Age of Antiquity**_

**150,000,000:** With the Precursors gone, the Forerunners claim the Mantle and the Precursor's seat in the Alliance. The other races refuse to accept this as the Forerunners took the position by force and pre-historic humanity has an equal claim as well. A challenge is created where either ancient humanity or the Forerunners are tested to see if they are worthy of the position.

**140,000,000:** The Forerunners colonize most of the Milky Way galaxy while humanity begins to colonize worlds beyond Earth.

**130,000,000:** Humanity comes into contact with the San 'Shyuum and forges an alliance with their capital at Charum Hakkor while using old Precursor technology. humanity's civilization rivals the Forerunners' own.

**120,000,000:** The Precursor ship _Atlantis_ arrives at the Pegasus Galaxy while their Andromeda cousins, the Celestials, were forced to ascend due to the rising Infinite Empire. The survivors become known as the Lanteans. They begin building another galactic empire of their own once again.

**110,000,000:** Humanity comes into contact with the Flood and wages an interstellar war against the parasite before sacrificing a third of their population just to save themselves as a species.

**109,500,000:** The Human-Flood War results in humanity conquering several Forerunner planets which forces the Forerunners to attack humanity in return without knowing why humanity attacked in the first place.

**109,000,000:** The Human-Flood War has weakened humanity to the point where they can't defend themselves from the Forerunners and are eventually defeated and devolved to a pre-industrial stage.

**109,000,000:** The Alliance instantly condemns the attack against humanity and tries to convince the Ecumene Council of the truth without success. As humanity is now too devolved to participate in the Alliance, the position is unofficially given to the Forerunners.

**100,000,300:** The Forerunners come into contact with the Flood and instantly start the Forerunner-Flood War. As the Forerunners begin to lose ground they are forced to become more desperate until a plan is approved to build a device that will ultimately stop the Flood, the Halo Array.

**100,000,043:** The other races in the galaxy find out about what the Halo Array is supposed to do and instantly prepare for the worst. While the Forerunners archive different races including humanity, the other races prepare to evacuate.

**100,000,040:** The Leviathans build the Reapers using the Precursor technology they had stolen in an attempt to save other races but the Reapers rebel against the Leviathans who are forced to send them into the void.

**100,000,025:** The Xenomorphs flee to a planet on the edge of the galaxy that is far enough away from the Halo's firing range where they will go dormant for millennia.

**100,000,010:** The Didact attempts to use the Composer on humanity to convert them into Prometheans in an attempt to defeat the Flood but is defeated by an Alliance fleet and handed over to the Forerunners who imprison him in _Requiem_.

**100,000,001:** The Halo Array is fired and all organic life not out of range or within the shield worlds is destroyed. The only ones who survive the deadly wave are the robotic Cybertronians.

**100,000,001:** Those Forerunners who have not been mostly destroyed by the Flood and Halo remain hidden within the safety of the shield worlds were they remain in stasis until a time when they can emerge.

**100,000,000: **The Flood starves to death and organic life is returned to the galaxy by way of the _Ark_. The Alliance does it's best to take care of all life in the Milky Way.

**_The Age of Darkness_**

**1,000,000:** The Alliance of Great Races is officially dissolved. Without anyone to take over the Precursor's position the alliance falls apart. The Furlings moving into unknown regions where they are never heard from again. The Nox take an isolationist stance and have few to no contacts outside their homeworld. The Asgard were partially affected by the Halo Array and are forced to use clones for bodies now. The Forerunners are assumed to have been destroyed.

**900,000:** The galaxy is divided between the few interstellar empires that were able to be evacuated and species that are forced to start from the very beginning once again.

**850,000:** A race of beings known as the Xel'naga, explore the Milky Way Galaxy preserving remnants of knowledge and technology from the Forerunners' time as a major power. They do not have long to live and in the process need to pass on the torch to other races. They come across the Protoss who they believe are worthy of inheriting the Forerunners' knowledge.

**800,000:** While the Protoss have become powerful due to their uplifting, the Xel'naga believe that they have failed and try to leave the Protoss homeworld. The Protoss attack and destroy much of the Xel'naga fleet. They break up into many different clans but eventually reunite.

**750,000:** The remains of the Xel'naga fleet come across the Zerg homeworld where they also try to uplift the Zerg. However in the end the Xel'naga fear that they may have created something worse than the Flood and try to destroy the uplifted Zerg. The Zerg counterattack and destroy the remnants of the Xel'naga fleet. Any Xel'naga that survived fled to the unknown regions of space.

**700,000:** The Xenomorphs become a major threat to several major planetary systems before coming across the Yautja homeworld. The Yautja, scarred by the attack, begin to develop into a highly advanced hunter race dedicated to hunting Xenomorphs.

**600,000:** The Asgard civilization suffers a civil war between those who wish to preserve themselves by studying other beings and those who wish to leave sentient beings alone, all of it due to the degradation of their clone bodies. The former come to be known as the Vanir. They are defeated and exiled to the Pegasus Galaxy.

**500,500-100,000:** The Goa'uld start becoming a power in the galaxy as the parasites proceed to gain sentience after taking the bodies of the Unas who co-inhabit with them on the planet. They will start building a interstellar empire of their own. They gain powerful technologies by taking over the minds of different peoples and ruins of ancient civilizations before them.

_**The Age of Rebirth**_

**50,000:** The Protheans become a galactic power in their own right and begin to expand their territories beyond the surrounding star systems. they began building the _Citadel _which will become their galatic capital.

**45,000:** They come into contact with the Metacon, a Forerunner AI that had gone rampant and created a robotic army. It is defeated and the Protheans continue to expand their empire.

**40,000:** After conquering and absorbing multiple races, the Prothean Empire reaches its apex. For the first time since the Forerunner Empire, most of the galaxy is under one government's rule.

**35,000:** The Protheans are noticed by the Reapers who believe that they are now at the brink of being destroyed by their own artificial intelligences and technology. They invade the Prothean Empire and destroy it.

**35,000:** A group of Protheans are able to hide in stasis pods and remain safe for several millennia. The Prothean Empire is destroyed and those captured are turned into the Collectors. Other civilizations escape, devolve enough, or hide until the Reapers leave.

**35,000-510:** The second generation of humanity emerges on Earth and encounters Cybertronians who are caught in the beginning of the emerging Cybertronian Civil War. The war is started by The Fallen who wishes to destroy Earth's sun to gain energon.

**10,000:** The Lanteans encounter the Iratus bug which feeds off Lantean colonists and evolves into the Wraith.

**9,900:** The Lanteans fight in a hundred year war against the Wraith which ends with their defeat. The Lanteans leave _Atlantis_ which sinks to the bottom of the sea on Lantea and head back to Earth where they either join with ancient human civilizations or ascend. The Wraith now controls the entire Pegasus galaxy and the newly arrived Vanir are forced to hide.

**9,000-3,000:** After several generations, the Goa'uld find Earth and harvest humanity as slaves before leaving Earth and never being seen again for millennia. They are portrayed as many of Earth's ancient gods.

**2996-2896:** The Yautja have already been a space fairing race for quite some time and come across Earth. The Yautja teach some humans how to build ancient civilizations which supply the Yautja with sport. When these trials threaten the whole planet however, the Yautja destroy these civilizations and leave Earth.

**938:** The San 'Shyuum and the Sangheili establish first contact with each other and begin to fight a long and bloody war which will last about a hundred years.

**852:** The San 'Shyuum and Sangheili form a truce to end their war and later on form the foundations of the Covenant Empire.

**580-520:** The Asari are among one of the first modern races to discover space flight. They soon leave their homeworld and find the _Citadel_. The Salarians find the _Citadel_ 60 years later and between the two races the Citadel Council is formed.

**510:** Cybertron is effectively destroyed. Megatron escapes through a slip-space portal to Earth. Megatron crashes into Earth's North Pole and freezes where he remained frozen for several thousand years. The Autobots and Decepticons both flee their dying planet to find this new world.

**_The Age of Reclamation_**

**1 AD:** The Rachni Wars begin.

**300:** The Rachni Wars are officially over.

**450:** The Precursors that will become known to humanity as Merlin and Morgan le Fay descend to help combat the Ori where they won't be stopped by the other ascended beings.

**700:** The Krogan who helped destroy the Rachni have become too much of a threat to the Citadel and with help from the Turians and the Salarians a genophage is created that makes the majority of the Krogan race infertile.

**1000:** The Yautja come across the Ossians who are actually the original forms of the Xenomorphs and this causes a civil war within the Yautja when they find out the truth. The majority help the Ossians while the others who become known as the Hish. They leave the Yautja and evolve into more monstrous forms over time as well as developing some close ties to the Xenomorphs.

**1895:** The Geth are created by the Quarians but develop sentience. The Quarians are forced to leave their homeworld and are forced to move through space on the Migrant Fleet.

**Early 1900's:** An expedition to the North Pole discovers Megatron and brings him back to America for scientific study.

**1928:** The stargate is found by the Langford expedition on the Giza Plateau.

**1939:** The stargate is ferried across the ocean to America to prevent its capture by the Nazis.

**1962:** Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space.

**1994:** The stargate is moved to Cheyenne Mountain Complex where it will remain.

**2080:** Humanity settles it's first off world colony on Mars.

**2164:** Humanity establishes the United Nations Space Command in response to the Interplanetary War and its effects on humanity.

**2291:** Humanity is able to travel faster than the speed of light thanks to the Shaw-Fujikawa slip-space drive.

**2450: **An advance guard of both the Autobots and Decpeticons lands and on Earth and blends in with human society by transforming into everyday vehicles. There will be rumors of massive robots later on but these are believed to be urban myths by many.

**2525:** The UNSC colony of Harvest goes dark (First Battle of Harvest). A battle fleet is sent which comes into first contact with a Covenant ship. The Second Battle of Harvest ends in a UNSC victory but at an extreme cost considering how many ships were destroyed just to destroy one Covenant ship. The Human-Covenant War begins.

**2530:** The Harvest Campaign comes to an end with the _Spirit of Fire_ following a Covenant ship to Arcadia. After the Battle of Arcadia, the _Spirit of Fire_ is forced to chase after the Covenant ship and the result is the Battle of the Shield World. The Covenant are defeated before they can use the Forerunner fleet within the Shield World to destroy humanity and the _Spirit of Fire_ is forced to drift through space without a slip-space drive.

**2534-2535:** The Human-Covenant War comes to an end after the Battles of Sigma Octanus IV, Reach, Halo, Earth, High Charity, and the Ark. Spartan John-117 was able to infiltrate _High_ _Charity_ and download knowledge about the Halos into the Covenant supercomputer. Thel 'Vadam as the Arbiter leads a rebellion against the Prophets Truth, Regret, and Mercy and their loyalist forces. The Covenant Civil War and the Battle of the Ark destroys the Old Covenant and the Separatists instantly plead for an end to the war. The Sangheili insist on helping humanity rebuild its shattered worlds.

**2540:** Humanity joins the Separatists to help form the new Caelum Federation which will include all of the former Covenant races and humanity. The remaining Covenant Loyalists reform into the Storm Covenant which continues to attack humanity and the Federation .

**2545:** Stargates are found on multiple worlds and archeologists begin to study them.

**2550:** The Caelum Federation discovers the secret of the stargate by accident and as a result finds a way to Abydos where they come into contact with human slaves ruled by the Goa'uld Ra. Ra is eventually defeated and killed and Abydos becomes an Federation protectorate. Stargate Command is created with mission to see if there are any more alien species out in the universe and to gain technology to protect Earth and her allies in case of another alien attack as well as unite the races of the Federation under one banner. The Caelum Federation begins to explore the galaxy through the stargate.

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**To any who read this, I'm not trying to rip off the creators who made some of this great works of art; I'm just creating my own version for the fun of it and definitely not for profit. Thank you for understanding and please don't sue me. Also I am not trying to copy off of any other artists here so I am very sorry if there are any misunderstandings.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Ok to anybody who is interested in this, I understand if you wanted other sci-fi series involved in my series. The problem is though that I started with that idea myself and had to cut out half of what I thought of. This is as much as I can gather all together without it completely splurging all over the place. Some of the stuff I had to take out was stuff I was not completely familiar with, so to be honest I don't know that much Star Trek and I'm sorry for those who were hoping for a Star Trek crossover. I just don't know where I would fit a series that large in my crossover when I already have a whole lot of others, so sorry. But I will still make some Star Trek references. Also, I would still like any advice and you can email your ideas on where the story should go, my only wish being that you do not stray too far from where I am at the moment. Thanks and like I said before, please don't sue me.**

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_**Stargate Command, New Cheyenne Mountain, Top-Secret Caelum Federation Base**_

Erik proceeded to punch the bag over and over again but in the end he finally realized that he was tiring out and decided to stop training for now. He moved out of the room and down the corridor and decided to visit his two friends. By now they were in one of their rooms or the labs. Erik decided to go to the lab to check up on them. Sure enough he was right as he saw the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae go at it… in a game of chess.

Erik casually walked up to them and said, "You guys want to grab something to eat, the cafeteria is serving lunch."

"Ugh" replied the Jiralhanae who looked up at Erik. "The food cooked here is the sorriest excuse of a meal that anybody could eat, let alone cook, in the whole Federation."

"That's only because it's made by the military and last time I checked you don't seem to be complaining about their hamburgers Brutus." Said the Sangheili who was still pondering over the chess set.

"That's because my race is mostly carnivore and you know it Acre." Brutus retorted.

"Well that hardly matters now does it, since every time we go there you proceed to take up majority of the meats and leave the rest of the soldiers starving while you eat to your heart's content. The kitchen staff has to practically commit suicide everyday just to cook twice as much steak when you come down otherwise the rest of us are eating Caesar salad."

Oh like that's a bad thing for you. You're the closest thing to a vegetarian in your entire race."

"Okay guys", said Erik. "Enough of the bickering and just finish your game so we can go get some chow. I promised Carth and Debaq we would actually be there soon."

"Alright," said Acre. He looked over the chess set on last time and moved his queen into a position to block Brutus' king before saying, "Check."

Brutus moved a pawn to the end of the board and instantly switched it out for a queen. He then took Acre's queen and was now in a position where he could team up with his remaining bishop, knight, and rook into blocking Acre's king.

"Mate." Uttered the Jiralhanae.

"What!" cried Acre who instantly turned his face to Erik and asked, "Can he do that?"

"Sorry Acre but yeah it's in the rules."

"Dang it, but I suppose I'll have better luck next time. Alright let's go get something to eat." Acre instantly put away the chess set and got some notes over the effects and slip-space from his desk before joining Erik and Brutus out in the hallway.

As they walked down the corridor, Erik smiled at the unseemly sight of the Sangheili looking over science notes while a Jiralhanae explained in a calm manner some of the techniques for chess. It was comical and rare since unlike the majority of their respective races, Acre' Auqotee and Brutus were the complete polar opposite of their species. Acre was a scientist and Brutus was a diplomat and both had been born into warrior cultures where it was common for most of their kind to grab the nearest weapon and charge headfirst into battle in the name of either honor or revenge. Here the two aliens managed to solve things in an orderly manner. That wasn't to say that either of them couldn't fight. Both had the regular training that one could always get from either Sangheili and Jiralhanae culture plus the military training of the Federation. If anyone doubted that they were proficient, then they could always look at the reports or simply ask any members of the Storm Covenant about them.

The trio finally arrived at the cafeteria only to hear a high pitched bird-like voice that instantly squawked out, "Debaq did you forget to take your pills again?"

"Shut it bird! You know very well that I am running out of pills and the infirmary won't receive a new batch until later today." Screamed a very high pitched voice.

"Alright guys what's going on?" Said Erik the moment he was close enough to the Kig-Yar and Unngoy who were arguing at one of the tables.

"Debaq is trying to wean himself off of helium again. Thinks he can get used to oxygen if he doesn't use his mask or pills." Said the Kig-Yar who pointed his finger at the Unngoy.

"I think I'm making great strides and I need to conserve my last few pills. I'm not getting hooked up to my apparatus again and Carth can't make me." Said Debaq before he swooned and nearly fell off his seat before Brutus caught him.

"Come on now. You know that it's impossible for you to try to and breathe oxygen. Your body is not used to it." Brutus said before placing a pill in Debaq's hand. Debaq took the pill and grabbed a glass of water.

"In other words, it isn't physically possible." Muttered Carth with a sly grin. Debaq gave Carth the evil eye before saying, "Keep this up jackal and I'll put a plasma grenade in your bed."

"Now hold on." Said Acre. "Debaq you are not placing an activated grenade in Carth's bed and Carth stop egging Debaq on when you know very well that he is running out of breathing pills."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Said Carth with the best innocent look he can put on his face.

"_Yeah right."_ Erik thought. Carth was a smart-ass but if he could make a good case when he wanted to. Had he not joined the army, he could have been either a lawyer or a politician. In his time here he became something of a trickster to everyone on the base and used his powers of persuasion to get his way many times. It was funny and annoying all at the same time. Breaking out of that train of thought Erik turned his attention to the buffet line. "Come on guys let's get something to eat before the line is too long."

The group got their food and ate in peace for a while before Brutus looked up and asked, "So do we know where we are going with SG-1 today?"

"No dude I do not." Replied Erik, "It's only been a couple of times since we have gone through the stargate and we haven't even explored a fraction of the galaxy. Until we get a M.A.L.P sent through then we don't know what is going to be on the other side."

"Statistics do say it could be another Goa'uld stronghold or one that had a Goa'uld presence long ago." Said Acre. "After all the last few times we went through the stargate was mostly to either Abydos or Chulak and in both cases they were controlled by one.

"I'm just glad that we gained Teal'c as a teammate now." Said Debaq.

The mission that headed to Chulak hadn't been an extremely good one. Erik could only agree with the statement that at least some good came out of it. It had been a few weeks since they had gone to Chulak in search of Daniel's wife Sha're and Jack's friend Skaara. Both had been helpful when SG-1 incited a revolt against Ra on Abydos and Daniel had fallen in love with Sha're. But then she and Skaara had been taken and Daniel had been forced to join SG-1 to try and bring her back. When SG-1 and Erik's team had gone through the stargate on Chulak, they had been forced to witness Sha're turned into a host and the answer that Apophis gave Daniel when he asked if anything of the host survived.

"_Nothing." _That word was a terrifying thought and Erik could see it still had the same effects on everyone else. The worst wasn't yet to come. After he had received his answer all of SG-1 and Erik's team had been imprisoned and then would have been executed. Only Jack's attempts to turn Teal'c had succeeded. Erik remembered the memory clearly.

_Jack was staring down the barrel of the staff weapon before he looked up at Teal'c._

"_Help me!" he cried._

"_Help me."_

_Teal'c looked straight at O'Neill and said, "Many have said that." before he turned his staff around and shot the nearest serpent guard before turning to Jack and said, "But you are the first I actually believe."_

After that it was a little bit of a blur besides being shot at and the running and trying to get the people out of here. But in the end the two teams had made it back to the SGC and debriefed General Hammond on the situation. Daniel had officially been made a member of SG-1 and Teal'c had been detained and questioned to see if he would be a liability. Of course after a few days Teal'c proved to be quite loyal to his new team and SG-1 now had a new member. Of course the attack on Chulak had not gone unnoticed by the Goa'uld and it certainly did not go unpunished. Apparently one of the soldiers who were a friend of Jack had been possessed by a Goa'uld and had tried to destroy the base before he was put down and the symbiote was removed. The snake was disgusting and the fact that it could control people was terrifying.

But even worse was the fact that since it happened on Chulak information had been taken from the human named Kawalsky and now the answer had been swift and brutal. A few outlying colonies of the Caelum Federation had been raided by Apophis' forces and now the Alliance was hounding for the blood of the monsters that would dare attack them. The knowledge of what had happened on the mission to Chulak had quickly become public knowledge and now many humans and some of their allies were now chanting, "Down with the false gods!" It had been decided by the High Council of the Federation that all military forces were to be on red alert and that a state of emergency was to be declared. The only reason why war wasn't called was that nobody knew exactly the position of Apophis' forces or his empire. But this wouldn't stop them. Not now and certainly not anytime soon.

Erik finished his lunch along with the others and not a moment too soon cause right after they left the cafeteria, the intercom called, "SG-1 and Demon Squad, report to the debriefing room now."

"Well you heard the man, let's move Demon Squad." Erik said with authority now. Everyone moved and headed toward the room which was set above the stargate itself. Everyone arrived in sufficient order and sat down in the chairs provided for them. Soon after they gathered, SG-1 arrived as well.

"Really. Here again and you're already waiting for us." Jack O'Neill cried as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "I should just start coming here first thing every morning when I know we have a mission."

"If you plan to make that a challenge Jack, then I'm pretty sure you will still lose." Said Daniel.

"Nonsense! What's the harm if I can't at least try?"

"You would be going against a Spartan, a Sangheili, and a Jiralhanae. You're just an ODST and you don't have much of a shot."

"Oh so in other words the cards are stacked against me."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Daniel."

"Jack."

"I believe Daniel Jackson maybe correct." Replied a very stoic Teal'c. "Just looking at the information about the Caelum Federation has shown that most of its member species could easily beat you in a sparring match." Sam instantly stifled a laugh before Jack caught her.

"Oh come on! At least let me have my fun." Jack whined.

"Sorry Jack. It's three against one. Majority rules." Debaq quipped.

"Hey! When did you get involved in all this?"

"Alright that's enough of that." Said a voice which everyone instantly knew belonged to General Hammond. He proceeded to take a seat after he handed out folders designated "top secret" to SG-1 and Demon Squad. "Now as you all know this mission is to try and find any other technology to fight against Apophis and his army. They have already attacked us and we need to see if we can use their own tech against them. The High Council and the UEG government are counting on you to find anything that could help us."

"If I may be of help General Hammond?" asked Teal'c. "I know of a world where a certain species as cloaking abilities. The Goa'uld has been trying to catch this creature without success so that they can use this technology. If we were to find out how this technology or abilities works, we might be able to replicate it."

"Do you have the stargate address with you?" General Hammond asked.

"Yes sir I do." Teal'c replied

"All right then. SG-1 and Demon Squad, be ready to leave at about 1300."

"Yes sir." Came the reply before everyone got up and filed out of the room.

"Hey." Whispered Brutus. "Do you think there will be any ancient humans like there had been on Simarka with the Mongol tribes that lived there?" On that mission SG-1 encountered ancient Mongols taken from the steppes over a thousand years ago. Their laws and culture forbid their women most of the freedoms that Sam was used to. To say that she was a little chagrined was an understatement. She had been livid not only because of the laws and culture but because of the dress she had been forced to wear because she had to be protected from punishment. The remaining male members of SG-1 and Demon Squad had poorly contained their avid appreciation for her new attire and she was less than amused as a result.

"She is a woman!" Squawked Carth who gave a good impression of Abu's reaction to seeing her before collapsing on the ground in a laughing fit. Everyone else either stifled the laughter that threatened to overtake them or turned a bright shade of red. Sam merely gave Carth a glare that spoke volumes of the pain she was going inflict on him for mentioning that. The last thing anyone saw of Carth before the mission was the poor Kig-Yar running for his life from a very angry Samantha Carter wielding one of Daniel's heavy duty archeology books.

Several hours later in front of the stargate, both SG-1 and Demon Squad were ready and prepared to leave. Sam came in ready soon followed by a very tired looking and slightly bruised Kig-Yar. Carth sided up to Erik who was wearing his Spartan armor and merely turned his head at him before whispering to him, "You shouldn't have pissed her off like that."

"I'll try to remember that next time." Carth replied.

Acre, Brutus, and Debaq merely glanced at Carth for a second before shaking their heads and thinking the same thing.

"_He is going to get himself killed one of these days and if not be her hand then by one of ours."_

The stargate instantly whooshed open and settled down. General Hammond then said over the intercom, "Alright good luck teams. Remember to check in in about 12 hours." Everyone gave the signal that they heard and instantly moved through the portal to whatever happened to be on the other side.

_**Unknown Planet**_

About several hours after crossing through the stargate, both teams were caught in a crossfire between two of Apophis' personal guard. It pissed Acre and Brutus off to no end that their teammates where caught in very dangerous positions. Everyone had been able to kill off a good amount of the serpent guards but Apophis had set up a personal shield which blocked every bullet, plasma bolt, and/or grenade that came his way. He then launched attacks of his own while safe inside his personal shield. Slowly but surely the members of SG-1 and Demon Squad were taken down by Apophis and the remnant of his personal guard. Debaq was the first to fall, followed by Carth, and then Daniel, Sam, and Brutus.

Finally it left only Teal'c, Jack, Erik, and Acre. But Apophis' guard and the false god had surrounded them. Then Apophis unleashed an explosive round from his hand and the four remaining members flew in different directions. As Erik looked around he saw the carnage. Teal'c appeared to be dead, Acre was unconscious, Jack was struggling, and Erik was dazed from the explosion. Whatever it was, it knocked him out good. As his eyesight slowly became better, he saw Apophis move toward him and when he was above him, Apophis raised his glove and prepared to torment his prisoner. Just as Erik descended into unconsciousness, he vaguely heard Apophis' saying, "What?" before everything went blurry and dark. The last thing he heard was a voice shouting, "NO!" before the darkness consumed him.

A few hours later Erik woke up to see a very strange sight as a group of strange human looking people, wearing clothes that seemed to be made of plants and hair that stood out all over the place, hovered above him. One of them, a male by the looks of it came close and said, "Don't worry. You are safe as well as your companions."

"Who are you?" Erik managed to croak.

The strange looking person merely said, "We are the Nox."

XXXXX

**_Codex_**

The United Earth Government (UEG): The UEG was established after the Interplanetary Wars that nearly destroyed Earth and her colonies, as a replacement to the United Nations. After the Human-Covenant War, the UEG went through a major reformation to restore Earth and her colonies after the damage that was caused to them while at the same time, preventing insurrectionists from gaining momentum by allowing planets to become autonomous from Earth so that more freedoms would be allowed. As of right now, the UEG has successfully rebuilt or is currently rebuilding all worlds that had been damaged and has one of the most powerful militaries and economies in the entire Federation.

The Caelum Federation: The Caelum Federation is a group of species consisting of the original Covenant species (the Sangheili, San 'Shyuum, the Lekgolo, the Jiralhanae, the Unngoy, the Kig-Yar, the Yanme'e, and the Huragok) plus humanity. The Federation was established after the Human-Covenant War in an attempt to make peace between the Covenant Separatists and the UNSC and to rebuild the worlds that had been left desolate by the war. While the Federation has been claimed as a success, it is considered more to be a provisional government more than a real power. Many believe a consensus should be held to reform the Federation into something better but the government claims that this will only be done once peace has been restored and emergency powers have been relinquished. The Federation is governed from the space station _High Charity_ by the High Council, where one member for every species in the Alliance (except for the Huragok) has a vote on the bills forwarded to them and represents their respective race. Ever since the Great Schism, most Covenant species are now adopting Earth religions that fit with their personal beliefs as many now refuse to worship the Forerunners as gods.

Stargate Command: Stargate Command was established after Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, and Samantha Carter, with a team, had accidently activated the stargate to Abydos. After saving the planet from Ra, the group was created in an attempt to unite the Alliance under one banner in an attempt to explore the galaxy. To make sure that no species would have preference over the other, Stargate Command was set on a planet in the heart of Alliance space so that it would be safe from outside attack yet far enough away from Federation settlements to not get any attention. As of now the group holds 10 SG teams of mixed species, the premier team being the team that first went to Abydos, all ready to explore the galaxy.

The Storm Covenant: The Storm Covenant was the remnant of the old Covenant Loyalists who sided with Truth, Regret, and Mercy and were able to escape either death or imprisonment by the Separatists and humanity. It is currently led by the Sangheili, Jul 'Mdama. Despite the knowledge that resulted in the Great Schism, all Storm Covenant members believe in the Great Journey as foretold by the Prophets and refuse to accept humanity in any way possible. They consider their brothers in the Caelum Federation as traitors and weaklings to be erased from the universe. Any attempts to establish diplomatic talks with them has failed and the entire faction is considered a terrorist organization by many. Currently, nobody knows where the group is established or where their fleets and armies are.

**XXXXX**

**Alright, well I'm sorry it took so long if you got impatient or something. Spent Thanksgiving with my family and didn't have a lot of time. Thanks for keeping up with me so far on my story, give me some advice cause I will need all the help I can get for this series to work, and if you have something bad to say, don't say it at all. I will only accept criticisms that will help me in this endeavor, no more, no less. If you have ideas for the series then please email me. **

**Also as you have read the first chapter now, this will be an oc character's point of view but we will have the main characters of the different groups involved a lot with the team and even seen and mentioned later on in the series when I move on from this book. I wanted to start from the beginning of the Stargate SG-1 series so that it would be more malleable to changes I make to fit the series. If any of you have any concerns, just know that for now I will be sticking with the Apophis storyline in this book, no Ori, no Jedi, no Protoss, this is it so far. I won't go all over the universe just yet.**

**Like I said before, please don't sue me this only for the fun of it. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from all of you. Happy Thanksgiving!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Alright this is my last warning of (don't sue me I'm innocent) so if any of you complain later on just know that this was on the last two chapters. Thank you everyone who is keeping up with me so far. I'm trying my best here but I had college finals to take care of so I had to stall on the work until now so I'm very sorry if you got impatient. But enough about me now. Alright so we left Demon Squad in a tight position but they got out with the help of a friend. Will the Nox join the Caelum Federation ? Will the team beat Apophis here? Will I ever stop asking obvious questions? Well you will have to read to find out.**

**But, before we begin, will the owner of a Daedalus-class starship please go outside. It's being towed.**

**Jack: Oh # %&!**

**Right, now on with the show. (Seriously how was he able to park that thing in the lot?)**

**XXXXX**

_**Gaia - The Nox homeworld - The Barn**_

Erik could only watch through a haze as the people who called themselves Nox, circled his bedside and helped him up a little. The others soon left leaving him alone with what Erik assumed to be the leader of the Nox.

"You like sprites or fairies from Celtic folk stories." Erik said in response to their name.

"I will take that as a compliment." The Nox replied.

Erik tried to get up and realized that he didn't have his Spartan-IV armor on and was only wearing his jumpsuit that went under the armor. The armor was precious to him. Like the Spartan-II, some Spartan-IVs developed the feeling where they had to have the armor on at all times or they just felt naked without it. Erik never suffered that feeling until now though. Apparently it had to deal with the fact that it was taken off without his knowledge or permission and the fact that he was standing before aliens and he didn't know how powerful they were. Appearances could be deceiving after all.

Then the thoughts of what had happened to his teammates had been brought back to the forefront of his mind and the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Where are my teammates?"

"They are safe outside. We were able to revive and heal anyone who was killed and injured."

"Oh good." Erik said. "I really thought that…wait what?"

"Come." Said the Nox. "Your friends are waiting."

Erik shook his head and decided to give up before it got confusing. "Before I go, can I get my armor back?"

"Of course, it's over there in the corner." "The Nox pointed in the corner and there was all the armor neatly piled up. Erik moved over to pick it up and as he started to get it on, he turned to the Nox and said, "By the way, may name is Erik. What's yours?"

"Anteaus."

"Thank you, Anteaus."

Anteaus left and Erik put on the rest of his armor before leaving the barn and finding himself in a field where he saw all of Demon Squad and SG-1 were merely looking around or looking over their armor. Nobody had their weapons around and it was then that Erik realized the same thing happened to him. He looked around and snuck a look back in the barn, but he saw nothing that showed where the team's weapons were. After failing in that endeavor, he headed straight toward a group that consisted of Acre, Brutus, Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Daniel all talking about what was going on. He soon heard the group's conversation soon enough.

"These Nox are very powerful if they can resurrect the dead." Acre said.

"Just out of curiosity, are you sure we were dead?" Sam asked.

"If the bleeding wounds and the pale face aren't enough, then I don't know what is." Brutus sighed throwing his hands up in the air at the stubbornness the scientist showed.

"Oh hey look whose up finally. Did you rest well Sleeping Beauty?" The sarcastic voice of Jack floated through the air. Erik instantly shot a glare at Jack, but it was a half-hearted attempt at one and filled with relief seeing everyone back to their normal selves. Jack didn't miss it and smiled back and so did everyone else at seeing their Spartan up and about once more.

"Hey guys, how is everyone doing?"

"Fine now." Said Daniel. "You wouldn't believe what had happened. These people must be highly advanced because I just saw them bring Sam back and she doesn't believe that she was dead in the first place.

"It's possible for people to mimic signs of being dead when they are wounded when they can still be alive and healed later on."

"Sam, my helmet showed that you were dead. So were Daniel, Brutus, Carth, and Debaq and even our host admitted that we died. Speaking of the team, where are those two? " Erik said.

"Those two are out and about looking for our weapons and any sign of where we are in position to the stargate. They will be back soon." Jack instantly spoke up.

"Hope they don't cross with Apophis and his guards along the way." Erik added.

"Do not worry." A voice said. "We have made them invisible and they are quite safe even if they come across the one you call Apophis." Erik instantly turned around to see Anteaus watching them. "I will take you to your doorway if you wish to leave." Anteaus said as if nothing happened.

"Whoah!" Jack cried out upon seeing the Nox seemingly materialize out of nowhere.

"You understand what we're saying." Daniel instantly said interested in the way the Nox were able to learn their language.

"It took time to learn your speech." Anteaus replied.

"Not much time." Sam noticed.

Erik, in his time trying to follow up what happened, had not noticed how the Nox had been able to learn English and found this quite interesting. _If we had that technology or ability during the Human-Covenant War then we could have at least talked to them diplomatically, or insulted them as best as possible while we shot each other to smithereens._

"How did you…no wait, are you saying you guys made us invisible?" Jack asked.

"Yes. We did."

"If that is true, then you are the ones who make the creatures the Goa'uld seek disappear." The way Teal'c said it made it sound more like a statement then a question.

"Yes." Anteaus replied.

"You do know who the Goa'uld are, right?" Erik asked.

"Yes."

"You are fully aware of what a Goa'uld is and what they have done?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you do something about it?" Acre asked. "If you know what they are and what they have done then why haven't you done anything about it."

"Because we don't fight." Anteaus said.

"You mean you can't or you won't?" Brutus asked.

"We won't."

"Why the hell not?!" Jack suddenly blurted out.

"Because we do not want to. What is the point of war when it brings nothing but pain and destruction? We seek a better life, a more peaceful life, where one can enjoy the blessings that life brings and not be tormented by violence, war, and strife." Anteaus pointed out.

"So you are pacifists?" Asked Erik.

"Yes."

"Can we at least have our weapons returned to us? We would at least like to defend ourselves and you if we get caught." Asked Acre.

"No. You are safe here and so are we." They cannot find us because we are hidden. Therefore you don't need your weapons here. Besides, we can defend ourselves if it ever comes to that."

"So you have the ability to fight back." Said Jack.

"Correct."

"You can turn things invisible." Said Brutus

"Correct."

"Then why won't you fight?"

"Were we not clear on the matter earlier?" Anteaus asked as if the question meant nothing.

"Come on, we would like to ask you some other questions." Daniel said and began leading Anteaus away with Brutus joining him wanting to get the poor Nox away so that he couldn't suffer Jack's wrath (if that was even possible). Carth and Debaq came soon after and reported that they couldn't find the stargate or any sign of their weapons around. If they wanted weapons then they would have to make their own. Jack instantly stomped off into the woods to find a way to make a weapon with Teal'c following behind. Acre and Sam meanwhile talked with another Nox who introduced herself as Lya, in an attempt to gain the incredibly powerful cloaking technology or healing technology they had. Carth and Debaq went toward a stump to play a game that most of the old Covenant races had played when they could. Erik was therefore left to his own devices and decided to see what everyone else was doing and if he could stave off the eventual boredom until they left. Erik went to listen to Sam and Acre's attempts to get help from Lya, it didn't work out. So he went to Daniel and Brutus talking with another Nox named Opher and all he got from that was the Nox was 432 Earth years old. He wasn't interested in the game Carth and Debaq were playing so he went after Jack and Teal'c. When he finally caught up to them, he saw that Jack had been able to make his own bow and Teal'c had done the same thing.

"So guys, what are you going to do?" Erik asked hoping that it wouldn't be what he thought he it would be.

"What does it look like? We are going after that bastard and see if we can catch him." Jack replied sarcastically as he practiced firing arrows into the trees to take down a fruit. "Just need to practice first."

"You do realize that the Nox may not allow it and you could get into trouble?" Erik pointed out.

"Well we can't just let the Goa'uld run around causing damage." Jack cried. "We need to go beat him and hopefully capture him and the Nox cannot do anything about it."

"Can I come along?" A voice suddenly said. Everyone turned around to see a child of the Nox behind them. Erik vaguely remembered his name was Nafrayu. The boy then said, "I want to see a Goa'uld."

"No." Jack bluntly answered. "We can't take you along. It might be dangerous. Just go home." Nafrayu gave a look that made him seem like he was pouting but it was obvious that the Nox, even their children, couldn't show negative emotions much so the boy simply left and appeared to go home. Jack sighed and simply said, "Are you joining us Spartan, or do we get all the fun?"

"I'm not leaving you to die again. Who would have to drag your bodies if I didn't come with you?" retorted Erik. Everyone chuckled before Erik got working on his own bow and set of arrows. He took a shorter amount of time than Jack or Teal'c so nobody had to wait. Unfortunately, none of the three noticed that Nafrayu was following them under a cloak. Slowly but surely, the trio moved toward the area where they believe Apophis and his guards were ready to fight it out to the death.

XXXXX

_**Gaia – The Nox homeworld - A clearing in the forest**_

The trio of peoples huddled around bushes, trees, and boulders waiting for the chance to strike. Apophis and his forces had been seen a short while ago and the group were moving into position to ambush him. Soon enough the group could see the Goa'uld coming out of the forest still chasing the mosquito thing they thought could turn invisible. How wrong they were. Jack, Teal'c, and Erik all lined up their respective shots and prepared to fire, but just before they did there was a sound, like a twig snapping. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound and say Nafrayu, or in the case of Apophis and his Jaffa, a small human-like boy. Erik silently cursed himself because now the boy was in trouble and he was right for Apophis had headed toward the boy and now raised his glove. The boy instantly collapsed from the pain but the trio moved in and began shooting their arrows, distracting Apophis and his guards. While O'Neill and Teal'c took pot shots, Erik moved around and got Nafrayu out of the clearing without any trouble before speaking into his headset. "Jack, Teal'c. I got Nafrayu. We got to head back to the barn." The transmission was cut off and the trio raced back to the barn to get help.

XXXXX

_**Gaia – The Nox homeworld – The Barn**_

The trio arrived at the barn soon enough and their sudden appearance caused the team and the Nox to rush forwards to see what happened. Erik gently put Nafrayu down on the pedestal inside the barn and headed outside where an argument appeared to be brewing between Jack and Anteaus.

"Look I'm sorry for what happened but your son but we need to defend you in case Apophis attacks."

"Do not worry. We can easily revive our son and we have stated to you as clearly as possible that we will not give you back your weapons and we will not fight."

"You would allow yourself to be slaughtered and studied when you can give us our weapons to defend you?"

"Just because we are somewhat powerless during the healing doesn't mean that we are defenseless altogether." Anteaus turned around and strolled toward the barn with the rest of the Nox before turning around and saying, "I believe that it is time you should leave. Your supplies will be at the stargate for you." With that, Anteaus entered the barn and left the team outside.

"Now what do we do?" Acre asked.

"I say we go down there and kick Apophis ass before heading back to the stargate." Brutus said. "The Nox may be a race of pacifists and they may not accept our help, but we owe it to them to protect them against such threats."

"Agreed." A very stoic Teal'c said.

"But how?" asked Daniel. "You noticed as well as the rest of us that Apophis has a shield surrounding him that blocks all of our bullets. We don't even have guns now."

"Actually, I think I found a way around that." Carter pointed out. "The shield may have been made to block fast moving projectiles like bullets and plasma bolts, but what about slowing moving objects such as arrows.

"It is quite possible." said Brutus. "The Covenant did some tests on plasma shielding to test strengths and weaknesses. On several tests it was noticed that debris that came from explosions or other hazards around the battlefield often bypassed the shields and struck the armor of a person or hull of a ship directly. In one test, we sent a ship with modified plasma shields and armor against a juggernaut to test the upgrades out. During the test, an asteroid floated close enough to the scrape the armor of the ship and remained completely unaffected by the shields. The modified ship's armor and shields were then installed on all ships and we didn't think anything of it.

"If the Goa'uld has the same problem with their shields then we can bypass them too." Debaq pointed out.

"Then let's make some bows and arrows and get that bastard." Jack cried out.

With that the group left the Nox encampment and headed out into the woods nearby. Jack, Teal'c, Erik, and Acre all began making bows and arrows for everyone. Soon enough, their project was complete and the group left to face Apophis and his guards.

XXXXX

_**Gaia – The Nox homeworld – Somewhere in the forest**_

The combined team was walking through the forest, looking for any sign of Apophis and his guard when all of a sudden they heard the voices of the Goa'uld and his Jaffa guards. They quietly surrounded him and notched the arrows to their bows. As soon as the aliens had arrived in the clearing, the entire team had started shooting their arrows at the Jaffa. The Jaffa fired into the trees but it was becoming hopeless for them. They couldn't see SG-1 and Demon Squad and the arrows were just as deadly as bullets. Before long the Jaffa were all down and bleeding from the wounds. The team came out with their arrows pointing at Apophis. Apophis already had his shields up and was prepared for them, but it would be hopeless. Jack calmly walked up, arrow notched and ready, and looked at Apophis and said, "Try to survive this you bastard."

Everybody then shoot their arrows at Apophis, but he suddenly disappeared. Everyone realized the awful truth then. The Nox had hidden him. All of a sudden, the entire group passed out.

XXXXX

_**Gaia – The Nox homeworld – The stargate**_

Erik woke up with a start and started rubbing his head. "God, if I ever get knocked out again, it will be too soon." He mumbled. He looked around and saw the other members of SG-1 and Demon Squad scattered about, waking up slowly. As everybody got up, Erik noticed that they were in front of the stargate and there were all their weapons. Everybody picked up their respective tools before turning around and seeing Anteaus and Lya standing in front of them.

"We told you there was a better way." The Nox leader said solemnly.

"But, Apophis still lives and he won't stop until he squishes everything he considers a threat… even you." Jack let the point sink in.

"We told you that we can defend ourselves. Let us show you." Anteaus replied before he moved his hand across the sky and their hovering over the forest was a floating city with spires and towers. Everybody could only watch in shock. So the Nox were more powerful than they appeared. Anteaus waved his hand again and the city disappeared before he turned toward the travelers and smiled a little to see the shock on their faces. Daniel stepped forward and said, "You do realize that even if you can hide successfully and bury the stargate, Apophis won't stop. He will send ships and soldiers to find you all and you won't be able to hold out forever."

"Maybe they won't have too." Erik mentioned and everyone turned to him. He took a step forward toward the Nox and said, "You can see just from us that we are united group of different species and we will do what it takes to defend ourselves. If we can work together, then maybe we can help others together and you might be able to teach us your ways. There are many among all of our species who would accept your lifestyle. You could teach us and if you need help we will help you. You wouldn't be alone in the universe anymore." Everyone was amazed and realized the importance of this. Erik was acting as representative to the Nox and trying to convince them to join the Caelum Federation. Anteaus looked on with what looked like…interest? Finally the Nox leader looked at Erik and said, "We will send a representative with you. Perhaps Opher will be suitable for the job." Opher appeared quite quickly enough and added, "It would be an honor to join your peoples." Erik could only smile and say, "Well then, let's go. Don't want to keep General Hammond waiting." Sam opened pressed on the DHD and the stargate opened. After sending the password through, everyone stepped toward the gate.

As the team came closer O'Neill began, ""You know, even if we never see them again, they gave us some good lessons to take back with us." The team thought about it for a second before silently agreeing, except for Teal'c who voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Indeed."

XXXXX

_**Codex**_

The Goa'uld Empire: The Goa'uld were originally snake-like parasites that originated from the waters of a planet (unknown at the moment) and eventually were able to leave after gaining sentience (unknown how at the moment). They later spread across the stars and came across ancient humanity where they were portrayed as many of Earth's ancient gods and goddesses. They kidnapped many humans from Earth and used some as hosts while they turned others into Jaffa to hold symbiotes, and others were just made into slaves. As of now, they control a large empire with enough forces and technology to rival the Caelum Federation, though their whereabouts is currently unknown. They are considered evil since they keep humans as slaves, their hosts in mental confinement, and reduce any species with greater technology to ashes. Like humanity, whom they call the Tau'ri, they can access Forerunner and Precursor technology due to controlling humans but at a more difficult pace due to changes made to human DNA and the naquadah in a Goa'uld-controlled or Jaffa's bloodstream and have currently not found anything of significance yet.

The Nox: One of the original races from the old Alliance of Great Races, the Nox are pacifists. They will not fight under any circumstances whatsoever even though they have the technology to defend themselves and others. They have greater technologies than the Caelum Federation has right now, but put up a front of appearing primitive so as to not draw attention to themselves. While other species are often ruled by their emotions, the Nox depend on logic and reason most of the time, showing others that under the right circumstances peace can be achieved. While they take a neutral stance in conflicts, they will send food/medical supplies and heal people who they consider their friends and allies but will not cross the line if it means harming someone. Their only world is their homeworld of Gaia.

Demon Squad: Demon Squad was originally created to be the first team in a multi-species attempt to unite the Caelum Federation even more. Anything deemed important by the Caelum Federation, Demon Squad is sent there to check it out, eliminate it, gather intel, etc. The name comes from the fact that out of all the other teams in every other group in the military, Demon Squad is made up of all members who were augmented and enhanced and are the best of the best in their respective fields and are therefore called demons by their peers (like the Spartan-IIs). They are given as much leeway as possible to complete a mission but they will still follow orders to the letter. However they will still disobey orders or question them if it is necessary. They are completely unique as no other species members can achieve the types of feats they can (save for heroes like the Master Chief and the Arbiter for example).

**XXXXX**

**Okay, again I'm taking finals at the college so I'm busy so sorry if you are getting impatient. I'm trying to write fast now so the next chapter shouldn't be far off. Also all readers are encouraged to send notes on where they think the story should go. Look forward to reading your ideas. Thank you, all of you and Merry Christmas (and if the apocalypse happens, good luck).**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi again and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (and Apocalypse Day). Sorry again about the delay but my computer went a little crazy and I had to part with it for some time to get it fixed. I got it back a few days ago and have been working on this chapter since. I want to thank Naginator for bringing up a good point and my answer to his review is that while the Caelum Federation does have cloaking technology, they only have it for soldiers and it has a limit both on how long one can remain invisible and how long it takes to recharge. Nothing like the cloaking technology used by the Ashrak, the Nox, or anything else in the Stargate franchise. Therefore, I say give them something to experiment with, even if it is something they already have. Also I renamed the Caelum Alliance as the Caelum Federation. Sounds a little cooler and frankly I might use the word alliance too much later on in the series so I decided to change it and I didn't want to make it sound like a change in government was no change at all. Hope you don't mind. Okay, beyond that now I decided that we should look at the Caelum Federation's government. After all doesn't help if we don't know what is going on inside the leader's heads now does it.**

**XXXXX**

_**City-ship of High Charity – High Council Chambers**_

The city-ship of High Charity flew through the darkness of space with a grace that no other Federation ship possessed. It was ancient but appeared as brand new as the day it was built and had always been the home of the government for whichever group had controlled it. First the Covenant Empire, then the Flood briefly before they had been irradiated to death, and now the Caelum Federation ruled from this bastion amongst the stars and it was here that the leaders and representatives of every species that was in the Federation now argued about what to do now about the recent crisis. The High Council Chambers were located in the same building where San 'Shyuum and Sangheili had originally ruled the Covenant alongside the Hierarchs who were usually voted into office as well as where Thel 'Vadamee had been tried as a heretic for the destruction of the first Halo. Now the chambers were once again witness to the arguing of several dozen representatives trying to shout down each other and voice their own opinions about what should be done. The senators of who resided at the head of the great hall merely shook their heads and waited for the clamoring to die down. One of the senators, the leader of the Kig-Yar homeworld of Eayn and ambassador to the Federation named Jak, banged the gavel against the counter before yelling, "Enough!" Slowly the representatives all sat down and shut up looking at the senators who gazed at the flock of peoples who looked up to them. The senators after all were the best of their respective peoples and that deserved obedience, if not respect.

The San 'Shyuum senator, by the name of Hope, looked around her before proclaiming in a loud and clear voice, "Representatives of the Caelum Federation, we must talk more about how this threat from the Goa'uld is to be contained and what to do with our new allies in the field, specifically the Nox and the Ohne." The Ohne were a group of humanoid semi-aquatic aliens that dwelled in the seas on their planet. A few weeks ago during a mission, Daniel had been kidnapped by one called Nem who wanted to find out the truth about his wife Omoroca who had apparently had gone to Earth to free humanity from the Goa'uld. While it turns out she died, Nem and the Ohne had pledged to help defeat the Goa'uld and his people had been invited to join the Caelum Federation. Now both Opher and Nem were here in _High Charity _waiting for the answer that would soon be delivered by this conclave.

One Unngoy representative spoke out and said, "The Goa'uld raided Federation territory and slaughtered and possibly enslaved hundreds. This immediately calls for a declaration of war, no more, no less."

"But they have power and technology to equal to us, possibly outrival us. After all, the Covenant was powerful and had greater technology and they still lost the war and the damage caused by it has not been fully repaired. We may not survive if war breaks out." Called out a Jiralhanae representative. "There is also the fact that we don't know their strengths and weaknesses. That raid could have been just their smallest and weakest group of ships. Their full arsenal has probably not been seen or tested and what of allies. Surely if they are as powerful as us, they might have allies of a sort."

"Maybe it would be better to barter or make peace with them instead of fighting them." A Kig-Yar said only to be instantly called a traitor and an idiot by the entire assembly.

"Have you been born without a mind or do you just believe that you can buy anything with money." A Sangheili shouted out. "You all have read the reports. The fact that these Goa'uld portray themselves as gods, what does that tell you about their mindset?" he directed the rhetorical question at everyone as he stepped out of his seat and walked down to the center of the room to grab everyone's attention. As soon as he was in the center of the chambers and the entire assembly's attention he proceeded with his speech. "These Goa'uld think we are beneath them. That we are nothing, less than nothing. They use humans as hosts and if they had the chance and the power then they would use any other species in the Federation as hosts as well. They practice slavery and commit massacres in order to hold onto their power and the idea that they are gods. The idea that a mere mortal, even a long-lived one, can achieve godhood and use it as an excuse to murder innocents is a blasphemy that no good person would ever tolerate, let alone accept. Slavery itself is just as evil and is something that has been banished from this part of the galaxy with the foundation of the old Covenant Empire and I am sure that should we be defeated by the Goa'uld then we would all suffer as slaves ourselves. There should not be any arguments for we are at war here! The only difference is that it has not been officially declared but that doesn't matter to the enemy now should it. They see a threat and they will instantly try to take it out first. Well I say, let's take the fight to them!"

The entire assembly erupted into cheers and everyone was crying for the blood of their enemies at the end of the speech. They knew that the Sangheili was right, but the problems still existed and few realized it having been caught up in the emotional swell that had been created by the speech. So when a human representative moved down to the center of the room nobody noticed until he was practically standing next to the Sangheili. The cheering slowly died down replaced with a cold quite that made everyone dread the next words in case they were the ones that they didn't want to hear. The Sangheili stepped down from the podium for the human who stepped up and turned to face the crowd.

"I agree with everything my fellow representative says." The representative said. "But I also realize this, that this war would also be too costly. I'm not saying that we shouldn't fight back, but you all know how everything is still. The last war destroyed hundreds of worlds and billions, if not trillions of peoples plus we have ruined economies that still need to be fixed. We are nowhere near the strength of the pre-war Covenant Empire and UNSC and now we are facing an enemy we know nothing about and you automatically want to declare a war that might cause more damage than the last. The cost alone would possibly bankrupt the Federation in monetary terms and cost more lives and materials than the last." The human let the words sink in before continuing. "Even if we do survive, we will be weaker than ever before and the result will be that we might come across another enemy that could destroy easily." There were murmurs of agreement throughout the room. "I propose this. That the government of the Caelum Federation does its best to support Stargate Command and make it the front line in an unofficial war against the Goa'uld to protect and combat this enemy until the main body of the Federation itself is in a position to help as well. We will be saving more supplies and money then if we build and man a fleet to explore a space that we know so little about. We will defend our worlds but we won't go out just to try and find these Goa'uld worlds ourselves. Not until we are ready." The crowd instantly began clapping, not as much enthusiasm as with the Sangheili's speech, but it was still large enough.

"On that note, I propose a vote." A Lekgolo or rather his translator said. Everyone in the chambers nodded their head in agreement. Hope immediately pressed some buttons on the stand before her and then called out, "All those in favor of supporting Stargate Command and giving the necessary supplies and manpower to carry out a secret war against the Goa'uld, say aye." The vote was an overwhelming aye. "All those opposed." None stood against the vote. "The motion carries. Now on to the motion of whether or not to invite the Nox and Ohne into the Caelum Federation. Representatives please voice your opinions." Hope called out to the crowd. The two ambassadors, Opher and Nem, arrived in the room and the Sangheili senator, Thel 'Vadamee, rose up to look at these two new creatures and saw that they were indeed a peculiar race of sorts. _"They definitely could pass off as humans if they dressed the part."_ He thought before pushing that all to the back of his mind. The two ambassadors bowed down before the senators and waited. Thel stood up and said, "Now then, who disagrees that these two species shouldn't join the Federation. They both our honorable and worthy of joining the Federation and besides that they have grudges against the Goa'uld. From SG-1's report, the Goa'uld killed and enslaved several thousand Ohne long ago after bombing their planet and the Ohne fought back. Then Nem's mate was killed helping the humans stand against the Goa'uld long ago. We should honor them for their bravery and the fact that they wish to fight with us against this evil."

"But what about the fact that they kidnapped Doctor Jackson and brainwashed the rest of the team into thinking he was dead?" Asked one of the representatives.

"They have a technology that is different from ours. It allows minds to be changed, memories to be replaced; even Daniel Jackson himself mentioned in the report that the machine Nem used on him brought back the memory of Omoroca which is who Nem had been searching for centuries. These people deserve help and we can learn from them just as they can learn from us." Thel 'Vadamee replied while the entire assembly shook their heads in agreement.

"But what of the Nox? If SG-1's reports were right then they won't fight, they may not give us technology to fight, they might heal our wounded but their very nature suggests that they would also heal the enemy's wounded as well. Their own technology is meant to hide them and help them survive. We are not like that. We will fight to protect ourselves and our allies, not hide in the bushes like scared animals trying to follow an ideal that will never come to fruition. In short, these Nox are peaceful so how is that going to help us in this upcoming war?" The question came from a second Sangheili representative that Thel knew for certain was more of a conservative amongst the more liberal Sangheili representatives. Thel then turned to Opher and asked, "Is what my colleague saying true? Would you heal soldiers from both sides without fighting for either?"

"Yes." The Nox replied stoically. The answer was met by questioning whispers scattered across the assembly. Thel decided to push for more answers. "But what if they were your enemy? What if you knew for a fact that they would just allow you to heal their wounded before taking you away to either study or kill you? What would you do then? Could you still get away as easily as on your homeworld of Gaia? Could you still turn yourself invisible and, whether you can or cannot, what will you do?"

The Nox replied, "Just because we might appear weak at first glance doesn't mean we are weak and if a people did want us for nothing more than our powers and technology and to use for evil purposes then we wouldn't deal with them." Thel looked back at Opher and then asked, "So do you consider the Goa'uld to be evil then." It wasn't so much a question as a statement.

"Yes." Came the reply. "But not those with them whom you call Jaffa."

"Tell me Opher, your people will never go to war. Correct?"

"Yes. As you have read we are, as you have described us, pacifists."

"But you care for your friends and allies. Correct?"

"Yes." Came the same reply.

"Then tell me," Thel said preparing to spring the question that would prove once and for all if the Nox's answer was the key to seeing if their people were truly able to handle being in the Federation. "If we were friends, depending on where this may lead, would you allowing let us be killed, experimented, and enslaved by creatures who believe themselves to be gods and not raise a single hand to help us because of your vows to live in peace?"

Opher looked thoughtful for a moment before looking Thel square in the face and said in a tone that betrayed no doubt whatsoever, "Just because we are peaceful by nature doesn't mean we wouldn't give our friends the help they needed." Thel smiled as soon the Nox finished speaking. His answer was the right one and apparently several other peoples understood as well. An Unngoy representative then stood up and said, "I call for a vote."

Tartarus turned to the crowd and called out, "All those in favor of making the Nox and Ohne our allies and inviting them fully into the Caelum Federation, say aye." This time there were a few nays but it was still an overwhelming aye. With the vote taken, the senators showed the senators their seats. Nem and Opher both sat down besides the original senators and looked out to the crowd. Tartarus spoke in a gruff voice saying, "Unless anyone else has anything to bring up, then this assembly is adjourned." With that, everyone took their leave and exited the High Council Chambers. The senators however went in deeper to a special room that the Hierarchs used before them to talk in secret. As everyone gathered in the room Hope was the first to turn to Opher and Nem and say, "Welcome to the Caelum Federation friends. We hope that things will work out wonderfully between our species." The two new senators simply bowed to Hope before turning to the others. Tartarus then turned to Thel and asked, "What was with the questions? I would think that you were testing our new friends?"

"I was testing them." Thel replied to the Brute. "They say they can't fight themselves but what if they could give technologies to us to fight their enemies? They may be peaceful, but when they have to fight in a war, they ask others to fight for them and I believe they would do anything short of fighting to help us. Isn't that right Opher?"

"Yes actually. There is a saying amongst my people. We only hide the weapons but we don't activate them."

"So you will help us?" Buzzed the Yanme'e senator.

"We will do anything within our power to help you short of fighting in your war ourselves." Answered the Nox. He then handed out a strange green crystal that looked like a data module of sorts. "This crystal holds the general information about my people and our culture. It also holds information on how we use our invisibility. You might be able to learn something from it. Other than that, we can't give you any more information that might help you in your war unless we believe you deserve it or need it.

Thel took the crystal and said "Good," before turning to Nem and asking, "Can your people help us in any way possible, soldiers, technology, starships, anything?"

The Ohne looked at him and stated, "We could give you our mind-reading technology right now but that is about it. We don't have starships of our own and it will take time to gather as many warriors as we can. But if you are going to war against the Goa'uld then it can be done. My people will help in any way we can to get back at what those monsters have done to us." Thel nodded and turned to the other senators. "Is there anything else that must be discussed?"

"What do we do about the planets with humans controlled by the Goa'uld or abandoned by them?" asked the Unngoy senator. "We can't risk having those people undefended and the abandoned worlds could become targeted by these parasites. Worlds like Abydos are known by the Goa'uld and places like Simarka haven't been rediscovered but it can only be a matter of time. We can't defend all of these worlds and our own worlds at the same time."

"Senator Belbit is right." Hope said to the room. "We can't possibly protect everyone and attack at the same time and that is even if we were at our former strength. Now though, we can't even protect our own people."

"We can take some of your people to Gaia and protect them if things become too dangerous." Opher said.

"That won't be a permanent solution to our problem with the growing refugee crisis." Jak pointed out. Thel could only agree as the first refugees were already starting to stream into the homeworlds of each respective species and _High Charity_ itself. The effects were already beginning to be felt by the respective governments in the Caelum Federation.

"I believe that we must leave everything the way it is for now. We will try to protect our allies like Abydos while also try to make sure the Goa'uld don't rediscover places like Simarka again. That is the best we can do now anyway." Jak said.

"We should enact the Cole Protocol that the humans used during the Human-Covenant War. It will delay or stop any Goa'uld attacks on colonial worlds and protect those worlds not discovered or rediscovered yet." Tartarus stated.

"We're just lucky that the worlds that were attacked were small remote outposts and any information was wiped from the central computers before Apophis captured anything important." Belbit said. Everyone agreed that if it had been a major settlement, things could have been worse.

"Enough of these grim talks about death and destruction," Thel said, "cause there is always hope for the future. Now unless there is anything else that needs to be said or done I believe we are finished here. We will talk about these at the next meetings, agreed.

"Agreed." All the senators chorused in agreement and then left the room to prepare for the war ahead.

XXXXX

_**Codex**_

High Charity: The space station of _High Charity _is both the capital and the biggest hub culturally, intellectually, economically, and military wise in the entire Federation. It is considered to be the biggest station ever created by modern hands. Originally the capital of the Covenant Empire, High Charity was attacked simultaneously by both humanity and the Flood during the Human-Covenant War. The Flood temporarily took over _High_ _Charity_ until the Master Chief forced the space station to go to the _Ark_ through slipspace without shielding. The resulting radiation killed off all traces the Flood and the station proved to be quite helpful to the Separatists during the Battle of the Ark itself. After that, the station was taken to the middle of Covenant, now Caelum Federation space, where a new constitution was drawn up by the respective races so that the mistakes that occurred during the theocratic rule of Truth, Regret, and Mercy, wouldn't occur again. To prevent one species from having special control or recognition over the station and to keep enemies unaware, it is constantly moved throughout space to uninhabited planets and systems and as added protection is surrounded by a fleet of 1000 space ships manned by all the races within the Federation. It still is considered the most important place to all known races within the Federation besides the _Ark_ itself.

Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee: Arbiter and leader of the Sangheili people and senator and ambassador to Caelum Federation, Thel 'Vadamee is the one of the most powerful military and political figures in the Caelum Federation. After the Human-Covenant War, Thel proceeded to rebuild the Sangheili Empire and the reorganize the Covenant Separatists into something better and with help built the Caelum Federation. As one of the Federation's founders and the best known Sangheili at the time, he was nominated to represent his people in the Caelum Federation. He will still lead armies and fleets into battle, but still takes the time to look out for the interests of the Sangheili race as a whole.

Chieftain Tartarus: Chieftain of the Jiralhanae, Tartarus is the best of his species and co-founder of the Caelum Federation along with Thel 'Vadamee. After beating his uncle Maccabeus in single combat he became leader of the Jiralhanae. Originally, he was once a fervent believer he in the Hierarchs and the Covenant religion and Thel's equal in battle, but when 343 Guilty Spark proved that the Covenant religion was a lie and humans were the Forerunners inheritors, Tartarus renounced the Covenant religion and he was able to bring many of his brethren over to the Separatists side as well as other Covenant Loyalists. He personally killed Mercy as the Prophet tried to flee _High Charity_ from the Flood and helped both Thel 'Vadamee and the Master Chief in the Battle of the Ark. Having renounced the Covenant religion, Tartarus has decided to serve penance for what he believe were his many sins that he accumulated during the war by serving in the Federation as ambassador for his people. Since his conversion, Tartarus and Thel 'Vadamee have become friends and know consider each other brothers in arms.

High Prophetess Hope: Hope is the child of Regret and at first grew up believing in the Covenant belief but as time passed and her father began exhibiting a different personality, she grew worried. She then found out the truth and did as much within her power to hinder the Loyalists within. When she found out that _High Charity_ became a target, she escaped to safety before the city was attacked and brought some San 'Shyuum with her to safety. After the war, she became the leader of the remaining San 'Shyuum and became another co-founder of the Caelum Federation and one it's most vocal advocates and the greatest allies of humanity.

Prince Jak of Eayn: Prince Jak is the son of the lesser known Kig-Yar prince who was killed by Ripa 'Moramee before Ripa became Arbiter. While Jak does care for his people and the Caelum Federation, he does not hesitate to line his pockets a little but will still follow the laws of the Federation to its outmost extent.

Senator Belbit: Belbit is from one of the more high-ranked Unngoy families which have been striving to make their people have a more equal footing with the Covenant. He cares as much for his people Thel, Tartarus, and the others and is often considered the most liberal of the senators.

Ohne: Not much is known about their race except that they were once attacked by the Goa'uld named Belus who wanted to show them off as prized possessions. The Ohne were able to fight back on both the ship and on their planet against Belus' Jaffa but thousands died in the process. Having long life-spans the Ohne never forgot the Goa'uld and will fight against them no matter the cost.

Nem: Nem is the husband/mate of Omoroca and had kidnapped Daniel to gain information about his mate who wanted to know what happened to her after 4000 years. He also gave false memories to SG-1 and Demon Squad when he needed Daniel to answer his questions. He is considered a leader and great scientist amongst the Ohne and will do anything to protect them from harm.

**XXXXX**

**Yeah again sorry about the extremely long delay. My computer went crazy and a lot of things got messed up so I had to give to Geek Squad just to get it fixed. Then there was the holidays and work. Serving food during the holidays is not fun and it only gets worse when the only non-work day is Wednesday. But all that is over, my computer is back, and I will be working on this story to the bitter end. I know its a little late but what the hell, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. (Also congratulations to everyone who survived the apocalypse and proving to the crazies out there that nothing bad would happen.)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello world! If you are reading this then guess what? I lost the game. Ha haa haaa! Okay but in all seriousness, thank you all for following me this far and giving me encouragement and hope for this series. I just really wish I had more time because I have to work and go to college and these are getting in the way of my story time. Also I'm going over SG-1 episodes to try and get things right so I'll be updating a little more slowly than I like. Right now we need to get back to fighting the Goa'uld. Vala stop trying to mess with my computer just so you can hack into Daniel's email. No don't push those buttonsssssssssssssssss ssssssssss sssssssssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ss sadfsasfda sfdasdfagkhlwiherpgiudfhnsij gadfgilrwhgag'oq[er0w9g34gjufidfsnhuifg?QQfasdgDFSHGSFDADSFAewrdgff!**

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**This computer has crashed and is currently rebooting in 3…2…1. Systems restored.**

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**Vala, now look what you did. God, I swear she grows crazier for Daniel with every passing episode. Right, now on with the show. Vala, I will tell Daniel on you.**

**XXXXX**

_**World designated as P3X-1279**_

The stargate once again activated as it had many times before now. The vortex spread out before settling back into the event horizon. A few seconds afterwards, SG-1 and Demon Squad both stepped out of the stargate and looked around them before stepping down the pedestal and looking around to see what was around. Not much was around in the way of technological advancement. There was stalls around and some huts that looked like those built by Early Middle Age peasants. Then there was a giant stone building in the middle of it all that was several stories high and appeared to have several dozen rooms whose windows were open to the air. As the team searched the small settlement there were signs of inhabitation but there was no sign of the people.

"Looks deserted." Carter said to the group.

"O'Neill, I have been here before." Teal'c said.

"Really, when?" Daniel asked.

"And what can you tell us about it?" Brutus asked as well.

"This world is called Cartago." Teal'c began before being slightly interrupted by Brutus who muttered to nobody in particular, "That's Latin for Carthage which was the greatest enemy of ancient Rome…sorry." Brutus finished to Teal'c and motioned for him to carry on. "The people are known as the Byrsa." Teal'c continued. "The Goa'uld visit here regularly. It is one of their favorite places to harvest hosts for Goa'uld absorption."

"You know I wish you wouldn't say harvest. We are talking about sentient beings, not brussel sprouts." Acre said obviously uncomfortable with the mere thought. He wasn't the only who didn't like it but everyone decided to ignore the creepy feeling that came with thinking about the Goa'uld and merely continued the search.

"It's odd." Debaq thought before turning to his team and pointing out, "Guys, this is weird, I mean all the food here is fresh. There's even something cooking on that fire." Carth gave the food cooking over the roaring fire a ravenous look before Erik tugged on his crest-feathers and dragged him away saying, "Search first, food later."

"Oh come on," the Kig-Yar pouted, "I only wanted a nibble, just a small nibble. It smells delicious and I promise to share."

"Sorry." Erik instantly answered with as much authority in his voice as he could muster. "The mission comes first and we don't know what is in that food. There might be some disease that could get you sick. Remember the last time you tried food like that left out in the open?" Carth did remember, especially how he ended up vomiting the stuff for days, but still continued his struggle. "That was different. It wasn't cooked properly." Carth fought back as much as possible without trying to actually harm Erik but it was futile. The Spartan-IV was much stronger than him especially with his armor and all Carth could do was grumble. "Carth, I promise that the food will be there, yes I'll get you a piece, and yes I'll make sure that neither Acre nor Brutus steal it from you. Now stop complaining or I swear to God that I will find some way to make you become the janitor for every restroom on _High Charity _fora whole year." Carth wisely shut up after that and the group continued onwards to the building where they entered what appeared to be a courtroom or at least that is how Brutus and Daniel saw it as. Things went smoothly at first until everybody turned around and saw a group of humans all aiming crossbows at them. One of them instantly cried, "Hak-ka!" Everybody raised every weapon they had and looked around them as they saw that the Byrsa had surrounded them. As the group looked around them, Jack calmly said, "Hold your fire everyone." The teams did and wondered what Jack was up to.

"Please put down your weapons." Jack calmly asked in a steady tone to the man in front of him. The Byrsa man replied, "How do I know that you are not an enemy, the Goa'uld perhaps?" Jack stared evenly at the man before saying, "If we were Goa'uld then you would be dead or captured, plus we don't look anything like them." Jack then turned his eyes to the crossbow which was below the Byrsa's face and said, "How about we put down our weapons. I'll go first." Slowly Jack lowered his gun and the Byrsa complied as well. When both had their weapons down the entire crowd did so as well. Everything looked like it might go smoothly but as the Byrsa commander looked at the different members of SG-1 and Demon Squad; he came across Teal'c and immediately shouted in alarm, "Jaffa!" All the Byrsa suddenly raised their weapons and pointed them straight at Teal'c with SG-1 and Demon Squad pointing their weapons at the Byrsa. Daniel managed to shout above the chaos, "Hold it!" Jack merely looked around and said, "Jaffa yes, but he's good guy." Sam agreed, "You don't know him. He's peaceful." Erik piled on more and said, "It's true. He is on our side now. Tell him you're peaceful, Teal'c."

Teal'c merely pointed out what the others said "It is true."

"He lies!" The Byrsa commander cried out "I know him."

"How?" Brutus asked impatiently.

"This Jaffa killed my father." Was the commander's only reply and which caused everyone on the team to look at the commander and pierce him with stares that said on what grounds did he have the right to charge Teal'c with murder."Teal, you ever seen this kid before?" Jack immediately questioned. Teal'c only replied, "I have not."

"He's a coward. He lies." The Byrsa said in a loud tone before being held back by another person. "Hanno! The mandates."

"He is not Byrsa. The mandates do not apply." The Byrsa commander known as Hanno replied to the other.

"What if you are mistaken? I do not recognize this Jaffa." The militia man pointed out. Hanno's only reply was to raise his crossbow a little before saying, "He is the one. He killed my father!"

"If you are right, he will be put through Cor-ai. But we do not take revenge like this, or we are no better than the Jaffa." The militia calmly said. Hanno only looked at Teal'c for a second before lowering his crossbow and faced Teal'c saying, "Cor-ai will sustain my belief."  
"Cor-ai." Daniel said to nobody in particular already analyzing the word and if it related to any Earth languages. In fact if it wasn't for the Spartan training and augmentation, Erik wouldn't have heard that one. Hanno then called out to the teams, "But first you meet the elders. Come!" Then proceeded to lead everyone out of the room. But no before Jack sarcastically murmured, "I always wanted to meet the elders." Upon arriving outside the meeting room the teams saw more villagers arriving. Daniel's only reply to that was, "That's interesting. I wonder if everyone's coming from some religious event."

"What does it always have to be a religious thing with you? Maybe they're coming from a swap meet." Jack scolded before turning back to Hanno who was walking toward them.

"When the gods come through the Circ Kakona, we scatter in many directions to hide from those who would hurt us. They are overdue to visit us again." Hanno said.

"That's why you weren't here when we came through?" Debaq asked.

"Yes."

Meanwhile, Brutus was working on the strange name that Hanno had given him before announcing to the team, "Circ—that's a Latin derivation. Circova Kakona—that's Greek. That's weird. Two root languages in one culture."

"What does it mean?" Acre asked.

"Circ Kakona—the circle of woes. Their name for the Stargate I believe." Brutus answered.

"I don't like this." Carth said, squirming a little as the villagers continued to stare at the more alien members before turning his head and seeing a woman, who looked old, walk toward them with the grace of a leader.

"You may approach." She called out to the team. SG-1 approached, with O'Neill leading while Demon Squad followed behind.

"You are the leader, yes?" Jack asked.

"Yes. You may go." Was the woman's only reply

"Just like that?" Jack asked again, only this time a little more stunned and surprised that a situation that looked to go completely fubar suddenly did a 180 for the better.

"Wait—we'd like to say a little while and learn from you. Possibly you can learn from us, I mean, you seem to need help avoiding the Goa'ulds." Daniel said. Erik merely rolled his eyes at the thought that only Daniel would be that interested in this people's culture. Erik believed Brutus might also be interested but given his appearance he was more likely to frighten away people the moment he waved his hand in greeting.

"You may go. Now." The woman said sternly, snapping Erik out of his reverie.

"Daniel? It's important that we respect our elders." Jack argued because he knew that if he didn't then Daniel might get them all in more in trouble and he saw the archeologist open his mouth to argue with the lady and decided to end it before it started.

"That was close. At least nothing else bad could happen now." Carth spouted out loud to himself. Erik winced and then started silently praying to whatever god there was that what was said wouldn't backfire on them all.

"Teal'c, dial it up." Jack called out.

"Not him." The elderly woman said and the villagers instantly surrounded Teal'c, holding their weapons up to him. Demon Squad did a synchronized face-palm before Erik swatted Carth in the back of the head with an annoyed look just for jinxing everybody.

"Excuse me?" Jack replied and turned toward the woman in confusion, annoyance, and a spark of anger in his eyes.

"For him there will be Cor-ai." Hanno answered this time stepping up to defend the villager if she became the target of the team's anger.

"All right, let me bottom line it for you, okay? You can't have that man." Jack said with as much authority as he could muster.

"He's not a man. He's Jaffa." Hanno deadpanned.

"He's already told you he doesn't know who you are." Jack pointed out.

Hanno merely turned around toward Teal'c before saying, "You say you don't remember me."

"I do not." Teal'c replied.

"Then maybe you remember this." Hanno said and held up a crutch for all to see. Erik saw the sudden flood of memories and the look of recognition come upon Teal'c. Jack apparently also saw this and said, "Don't answer that Teal'c."

"But I must." Teal'c replied.

"That's an order Teal'c. Don't answer anything."

"He does not need to say anything." Hanno smirked, "Take him in custody."

"Hold it!" Jack cried out and raised his gun with Sam and the rest of Demon Squad following suit only to have Daniel pushing Jack's gun down and saying, "Jack that is not the way to handle this." The group could only follow Teal'c as he was lead down into another part of the meeting hall and put into a cell.

"I don't suppose we could get him out on bail." Jack's sarcasm instantly kicked in.

"He is guilty." Hanno's replied. "He must pay for what he has done."

"And you've already decided this." Jack mocked.

"Yes."

"Hey. At least untie his hands. Come on."

Hanno nodded his head to the men to untie Teal'c hands before turning around and saying, "Tomorrow we will have the Cor-ai. You are welcome to stay." Before he and his men left.

"Gee thanks." Jack called out to their retreating backs before turning around and saying, "All right, when they come back, Daniel, you draw 'em in. Carter and I will take right and left flanks. Demon Squad, I would appreciate it if you distracted them up on top.

"Ooh, wait a minute. Are you talking break out?" The voice of Daniel instantly broke out in

Jack's sarcasm came back in full force. "Uh, yeah. We're gonna grab Teal'c and head straight for the Stargate. It'd be nice if we could do it without bloodshed."

"No." Teal'c voiced from his cage.

"Excuse me?" Jack stared evenly back at Teal'c and his voice went a little high from the shock of what he was hearing.

"Do not attempt your plan. I will not go."

"You know that's a really odd sound. I thought you just said you wouldn't go?"

"That is correct."

"Why?" Jack was getting irritated by this point.

"Because to go would disrespect the Byrsa."

"Disrespect?"

"Teal'c is right. We should show some respect." Acre joined in. "On Sangheilios, people who were charged with crimes they honestly committed would stand trial for the sake of honor and respect. It was only after they were jailed or for the wrong reasons that they may attempt to break out for the sake of honor."

"I don't care. Did anyone else hear that kid say that Teal'c was guilty already? For all we know, they wanna kill him." Jack pointed out.

Brutus instantly joined sides with Acre and said, "Wait, wait, wait, who said anything about killing? I mean all they said was they want to put him through Cor-ai. Now near as I can figure, that is like a simple trial."

"Now see, it's that near as I can figure part that's got me a little worried. What if their idea of a simple trial is a simple beheading?" Jack was beyond irritated right now and the anger was starting to show on his face.

"I will not run." Teal'c calmly said like a professional stoic.

At that moment three women arrived and kneeled down before the cage which held Teal'c which soon caught the attention of the group in the room.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Jack instantly asked the lead lady of the three. The Byrsa woman looked up and answered, "I am the Jaffa's voice for the Cor-ai."

"Well I think his voice is just fine." Jack joked.

"I think she means kind of like his defense attorney." Daniel pointed out.

"I have been chosen." The woman continued. "Uh, I must witness his pecca-ve."

"What's a pecca-ve?" Sam asked.

"There's a Latin word that's similar. It basically means, I have sinned." Daniel answered.

"She wants his confession?" Debaq yipped.

"Has it occurred to anyone that he might not be guilty?" Jack turned back to the woman.

"If he were not guilty, there would be no Cor-ai." The woman answered.

Jack cleared his throat, and kneeled before the kneeling woman and said, "Innocent until proven guilty. Heard of it?"

"Actually, throughout history the idea's pretty rare. Most cultures usually assume things the other way around." Daniel answered Jack's question instead. Jack instantly turned him around and gave him the evil eye to which Daniel responded, "I'm just ... saying."

Jack turned back to the woman who said, "I must hear the Jaffa's pecca-ve."

"Well, you're outta luck, 'cause you're not gonna get him to pecca-anything."

"Then who will be his voice?" The woman asked.

"That would be me." Jack sighed.

"Uh, you sir?" Sam instantly put her two cents in.

"You will be his voice for the Cor-ai?" The woman asked.

"Yep."

"As you wish. I will tell the elders." With this the woman and the other 2 women rise, and walk up the stairs. Jack, also got up and sighed before Erik came up and asked, "You sure you're up to this?"

"Why? You don't think I am?"

"Well, it's - it's just that I've never actually heard you referred to as a diplomat. I think, um…" Erik stalled unable to find the right word until Carth came up with it, "antagonist is the right word to use." This earned Carth a punch on the arm from Acre.

"But I'm his commanding officer. It comes with the territory."

"Wouldn't Daniel be better at it, I mean, being a linguist and a cultural expert? Sir." Sam pointed out.

"All right, we'll all do it. How's that?" Jack faced everyone.

Daniel replied, "That's fine."

"Co, co-counsels. Works for me." Sam said.

"Agreed" Erik sighed and looked to his team who were all nodding their heads up and down in agreement.

_**Great Hall – Cartago**_

The bell was tolling as Teal'c was brought into the meeting room followed by SG-1 and Demon Squad. It was full of people. The elder woman walked up to the podium, holding a pole that looked like a candelabra. She nods at Hanno, who kneeled before Teal'c.

"I am sorry." Hanno said.

"You are sorry?" Teal'c was confused.

"When I first saw you, I let my anger control me, and I threatened your life." Hanno explained, "This is counter to Byrsa mandates, and by doing it I shamed myself and my whole clan. I ask your forgiveness."

"You have it." Teal'c said.

"This is startin' off better than I thought it would." Jack whispered to Daniel. Hanno walked over to the elder woman, who gave him the pole. He then walked back down the steps to stand in front of Teal'c.

"Jaffa, you killed my father." Hanno's voice rang out. "For this crime the punishment is death. I will now lead the Cor-ai."

Jack instantly stood up and called, "Objection!" Everyone in the court looked at him confused while the teams just looked at him in shock. "That's something we say back on earth when...never mind." Jack started to explain before giving up. "You can't be the judge; that's not fair."

"Judge?" Hanno asked.

"Yeah, the guy who controls the proceedings, decides what happens here.

"Why is it not fair?"

"Because you're the son of the victim."

"Yes."

"Well, the judge has to be impartial."

"What does that mean?"

Daniel stood up and answered Hanno's question. "Uh, impartiality would require someone who hasn't already formed an opinion about Teal'c's guilt or innocence."

"How could there be such a person? Anyone who has a mind has an opinion."

"_This is getting out of hand."_ Erik thought before standing up and explaining, "Yes, but in this case impartiality is to make sure that a fair trial is made. If the criminal, say judged himself, then he would claim to be innocent and get away despite the fact that he committed the crime. If the victim judged him, then he might claim revenge against the criminal and give him a punishment that is harsher that doesn't truly deserve. Impartiality is to make sure that the criminal gets a fair trial and also a fair punishment for his crime if he is found guilty."

"Your honors," Jack said drawing everybody's attention again. "I respectfully request that someone else be in control of this...what is it?" He asked Daniel.

"Cor-ai." Daniel answered.

"Cor-ai." Jack said to the elders.

"Only the person who has suffered understands the pain which has been inflicted. Who else can fairly say what the punishment must be?" The elder explained.

"Well, you could for one." Jack's sarcasm kicked in again. Of course he might regret what he said as has the entire crowd gasped and the people started to whisper in angry hushed tones.

"Hanno will continue." The elder proclaimed.

"Unbelievable." Jack muttered

"It's actually rather Talmudic - only he who is wronged can forgive the criminal." Brutus whispered.

"Will you can it?" Jack shot back.

Hanno meanwhile had stepped up to the center podium holding Teal'c and said, "You remember me?" It was more of a statement and command then a question. The crowd turned its heads toward Teal'c awaiting his answer.

"I do."

"Then you are the one who killed my father, are you not?"

"Don't answer that Teal'c." Jack called out.

Teal'c however either wasn't paying attention or was ignoring Jack for he replied, "Yes. I am the one who killed your father."

The crowd murmured as Hanno walked away. Sam looked at Jack, who looked pretty pissed. Teal'c was impassive as usual and the rest were looking glum for their friend. Hanno gave the pole back to the elder as a bell started to toll, and SG-1 and Demon Squad looked at Teal'c as he sat down on the chair. People began filing out and before long the room was empty. Teal'c was still sitting in the chair and Jack was standing by him with everyone else around.

"Teal'c," Jack sighed before continuing, "Are you trying to commit suicide?"

"I do not understand." Teal'c replied.

"Why didn't you tell me you were guilty. At least before you told a room full of people that wanna see you dead." Jack exclaimed.

"You already knew, only you did not want to hear it. That is why you asked me not to speak." Erik saw Jack raise his eyebrows, knowing Teal'c was right.

"What happened?"

"Apophis ordered me to kill Hanno's father.".

"So, you were following orders."

"Hanno's father died by my hand. No one else's. I am responsible. What I did while serving Apophis, I will not hide from."

"Even if the punishment is death?"

Teal'c pointedly said, "Then that is what I deserve."

"Teal'c, you sound like you wanna die."

"Colonel O'Neill, have you ever faced the crying eyes of a child whose father you have just murdered?"

"Not exactly. Jack answered before continuing. "Teal'c, there are a lot things we do that we wish we could change and we sure as hell can't forget, but the whole concept of chain of command undermines the idea of free will. So as soldiers, we have to do some pretty awful stuff. But we're following orders like we were trained to. It doesn't make it easier; it certainly doesn't make it right, but it does put some of the responsibility on the guy giving those orders."

"He is right Teal'c." Acre stepped up. "The Prophets ordered us to exterminate humanity when we met. They alone were responsible for the beginning of the Great War. My people were merely puppets, slaves to them, as are your people are slaves to the Goa'uld."

"Then you are saying Apophis is responsible for Hanno's father's death."

"Yes!" Jack cried out.

"You are wrong, O'Neill." Teal'c was on the verge of tears now. "While in the service of Apophis I did many things. For these deeds, my victims deserve retribution."

"Can we focus on this one case only for now please?"

"This case represents the many."

"Well it shouldn't!" Jack banged his hands against the railing before turning to Teal'c and asking, "Why? Why are you doin' this?"

"When I look into Hanno's eyes, I see the horror on the faces of many others, as their loved ones prepare for Goa'uld absorption. Worse yet is the face of the victims whom I selected as they realize they are about to take their final human breath. Hanno's father was neither the first nor the last of those whose lives I've taken. And I have done far worse, O'Neill. I cannot give all of their loved ones retribution, but I can at least give it to this one. I am sorry, O'Neill. I will not run." Teal'c proclaimed to everyone and as everyone looked they all realized one thing. There were tear streaks running down his face.

"Well, I'm sorry, Teal'c, but that's unacceptable. I'm gonna to do what I have to do to keep you alive whether you like it or not." Jack answered before walking out of the hall followed by the rest of SG-1 and Demon Squad and as they left the hall, the bell tolled once more and the people returned to the hall.

"What's the plan of attack?" Jack asked Daniel.

"Well, the way I look at it, Teal'c has already pled guilty. So to draw a parallel to an American trial, we have to look at this as sort of like the sentencing phase. We need to prove to these people that he doesn't deserve to die." Daniel answered.

"How do we do that?" Debaq asked.

"We need to convince them that he's a different man now than he was then." Brutus pointed out.

"Good luck with that." Carth said earning a glare from everyone. "Look," he said quickly, "even if we point out all the good Teal'c has done and compare and contrast it with the Covenant's own history or humanity's, the trial and our friend's life still rests on the whim of a young boy who looks like he is on a path to vengeance. If we don't change his mind then Teal'c will die."

"Then we will have to convince him." Erik stated.

Everyone returned to the great hall before the door closed, and watched as the elder woman walked up to the podium carrying the stick once more. Hanno took the stick and started the trial once more and to help defend Teal'c, Jack started asking Daniel questions.

"Tell us what happened to your wife." Jack asked.

"Her name is Sha'uri." Daniel began slowly. Obviously this was opening some old wounds. "She was captured by Apophis' serpent guards, and changed."

"She's now a Goa'uld?"

"Inhabited by one, yes."

"And how did she get to be one of the victims?"

"The leader of the serpent guards picked her out of a crowd of other women, at random, really."

"Who was this serpent guard?"

"Teal'c." The crowd was murmuring.

"The OLD Teal'c." Daniel called out before it got out of hand. "At that time, he hadn't joined us yet. He didn't know me or that Sha'uri was my wife."

"But the fact is you now work side by side with the man responsible for your wife's fate."

The crowd let out a synchronized gasp and stood stock still, waiting for the answer. Erik smirked a little because the crowd's reactions were rather comical to him. They reminded him of actors who had practiced what expressions to use.

"It was difficult for me at first, I wanted to hate him. But now I know that it was a different Teal'c that chose Sha'uri and I know that if there were any way for him to help me get my wife back, this Teal'c would do it gladly. Even if it meant giving up his own life. This Teal'c is my friend." The duo then left the floor and Sam stepped up and started asking Teal'c about how they met.

"There were fifty human captives. All were unarmed. Apophis ordered me to slaughter them all." Teal'c said.

"But you didn't, did you?" Sam stated.

"I did not."

"What did you do? "

"I turned my weapon on my fellow serpent guards."

"It was a huge risk for you, wasn't it, Teal'c?"

"I made a decision."

"I think you're being a little modest here. You have a family. Do you think you'll ever see them again?"

"It is unlikely."

_**In the Byrsa Village – Cartago**_

Daniel was walking around with Carth and both were deep in thought until Carth accidently rammed into a column that he didn't noticed and collapsed onto the ground, leaving a small crater where his helmet made contact. As Carth got up, with Daniel helping him, a woman came up and asked, "Have you lost your way?" Daniel pulled Carth up and dusted himself off before facing the woman and answering, "Oh, no, We are just looking around, if that's okay."

"You are welcome to do so." The woman said and as the group walked around the woman followed beside them.

"You have a very lovely existence." Daniel complimented.

"Thank you. It would be made lovelier were it not for the Goa'ulds, and the Jaffa." The woman thanked.

"The one thing I-I can't seem to figure out is, is, where you live."

"We live here."

"Oh, no, no, where do you, where do you sleep at night? Where do you take shelter? Where do you sleep?"

"We sleep in the hiding.

"The hiding?

"We have hidden caves and tunnels in all directions. When the evil ones come in through the Circ-Kakona, we flee in all directions and we disappear."

""So they catch only the slowest among you.

"Oh, no, we would never leave anyone behind. We all go, or none of us do."

A lightbulb appeared above Daniel's head before being snuffed out by a very miffed looking Kig-Yar who said, "Daniel will you buy a leg of that meat over there please."

_**Teal'c's Cell – Great Hall – Cartago**_

Daniel was running down the steps dragging a very angry Kig-Yar behind him who was whining about meat. As he neared the bottom of the stairs, Daniel began to speak, "I think I might have something that might help us out. Teal'c, tell us exactly what happened that day?"

"Apophis ordered me to kill one of the villagers so the rest would obey."

"Okay, well I think we've all heard the reader's digest version of the story, but there's more to it, isn't there. Like why you chose Hanno's father."

"We brought those we had captured back to the hall. Apophis ordered the selection process to begin." With those words, Teal'c began telling his story about what had truly happened to Hanno's father and how he had only one leg. He left out no details and eventually ended his story accounting what happened after Hanno's father was killed and Apophis went back through the stargate. By the time it was over, Daniel was smiling.

"The truth is our defense." He said cryptically.

"I think I see where you're going with this, Daniel." Sam recognized. "This is good. This could make the difference in the Cor-ai."

"It's a kangaroo court. Nothing's gonna make a difference. Isn't that painfully obvious to anybody? That kid made up his mind before we even got here."

"So what do you suggest?" Debaq sarcastically asked.

"Carter, Acre, Brutus, and I are going back to Earth for reinforcements."

"What, you're going to shoot his way out?" Erik asked.

"No, Daniel. I'm hoping we can bring back enough fire power so it'll scare 'em into turning Teal'c over. That's how I'd like to see it go down."

"I have already told you, O'Neill. I will not run."

"Teal'c, you're going back with us if I have to knock you out and carry you myself. Got it? Buy as much time as you can, Daniel."

With that the four members traveled up the stairs and headed toward the gate

_**SGC Gate Room – New Cheyenne Mountain**_

Klaxons were blaring. Hammond and an officer met the four members at the gateroom and the general was the first to begin by asking, "Where are the rest of your teams?"

"We'll explain, sir. First, I need you to mobilize a combat unit ready to go back to that planet ASAP." Jack hurriedly explained.

Hammond turned toward the officer and ordered him, "Do it." The officer left and General Hammond turned toward the four. "Now how about filling me in? he said before he turned and left the gate room with the group following him behind.

_**Great Hall – Cartago**_

"So, by killing that man, you actually saved the lives of the rest of the villagers. You even saved Hanno's life." Daniel stated.

"It is true." Teal'c confirmed.

"But can you really be sure Apophis would have really killed the rest of the villagers?" Erik asked.

"I have seen him do it many times."

"So although you were faced with a terrible decision, you chose the lesser of two evils?"

"He chose to kill a crippled man. The man least able to run away, the most helpless of us all. His choice was not moral. It was cowardly and evil." Hanno instantly spoke out.

Daniel turned toward Hanno and asked, "Hanno, I'm told the Byrsa's only defense against the Goa'ulds is their ability to run and hide. Is that right?"

"We have escape tunnels and caves. When the lights on the Circ-Kakona appear, we can disappear before the Goa'uld arrives." Hanno answered.

"But, you have to move fast, right?"

"Of course."

Daniel turned back toward the podium and said, "Teal'c, did you know that back then."

"I did. It was often very difficult to locate the villagers. They seemed to be able to vanish into the forest, as quickly as a flock of birds."

Erik turned toward Hanno and asked, "How fast could your father move, with only one leg?"

"It was not important. As a member of the clan, he would never be left behind."

"So in other words, your group can only move as fast as its slowest member? Right?" Daniel turned around and faced Teal'c. "Teal'c, why did you choose Hanno's father?" Daniel asked.

"I saw his injury. I knew that without him the group could move more quickly. Perhaps even evade us the next time we came."

"No, I will not hear this." Hanno cried out in rage now seeing where this may be going. He instantly got up from his seat and was prepared to march back down to where Teal'c was before Erik laid a hand on his shoulder and said in the most polite but serious tone he could muster, "Please, sit down." Hanno obliged though reluctantly.

Daniel continued, "So you made a decision. You chose to kill one that day to save many later. Is that right?"

"It is correct." Teal'c answered honestly.

"So if Teal'c hadn't made that decision, many of you might not be alive today to want him dead." Daniel called out to the rest of the onlookers.

"I do not understand the relevance of any of this." Hanno said.

"I am trying to prove to you that Teal'c is a good man. He is very important to all of us in fighting the Goa'ulds and the Jaffa. Therefore I ask that you spare his life." Daniel pleaded.

"You have defended this Jaffa repeatedly by saying he is a changed man. And for proof you have given many examples of his firing upon his former comrades."

"Yes."

"Then why did he not fire upon them here instead of killing my father." Hanno's face was contorted by rage and sorrow.

"Because it wouldn't have done any good." Daniel pointed out.

"My father might be alive today!" Hanno yelled.

"No, not necessarily. Even if Teal'c had succeeded that day, the Goa'uld would have eventually sent more Jaffa to exterminate everyone - your entire population."

"How do you know that? They did not do that to your people."

"They tried. We have defenses that you don't." At this point, Daniel turned to face the entire crowd and said, "Teal'c may have killed Hanno's father, but in doing so he saved you, and you, and - and all of you. Teal'c's death will not change the past, but his continued life can help all of our future. Can you really justify killing him now?"

"His fate is not to be decided by us." The elder called out in a soft voice from the pedestal on high. "Cor-ai mandates that only Hanno can make that decision." Daniel closed his eyes and removed his glasses realizing that the case had truly been lost and his speech had been for nothing.

"Your argument is wise, and moving." Hanno complimented from where he stood as he moved down into the center of the room. "I commend you."

"Thank you." Daniel replied.

"You have made a compelling argument that this Jaffa's more recent and continuing good should somehow negate his past evil. I have but one final question. Can his recent actions, or any future actions, return my father from the dead?"

"No, no, of course not."

"That doesn't mean that he should be killed." Erik pointed out as everyone turned toward him. "Look, years ago an alien collection different from the Goa'uld tried to exterminate my kind because of a lie. We fought back and showed them the truth and although they were guilty of such horrible crimes that the only suitable punishment would be execution, they helped us rebuild our worlds and cared for our wounded. Their leaders even offered their lives as penance for what happened though we wouldn't kill them for either justice or vengeance. They are doing their best to make up for their mistake. Should not Teal'c be allowed to do that. He realized his mistake and wishes to help now. Allowing him to go free would mean the deaths of more of the Goa'uld who constantly hunt you all down. Without Teal'c, we would have a harder time ridding the galaxy of their presence."

"Do you stop hunting murderers just because they have a change of heart? Would any good that they do erase their sins from the past? Would you allow them to go freely into the world knowing that they could do again what they did before." Hanno asked.

"No" Erik answered with a heavy heart. "My government's laws wouldn't have allowed it."

"Then clearly no amount of good in the present can erase what he has done in the past." Hanno turned toward Teal'c and said, "Jaffa, you are guilty of killing my father. Tomorrow, at mid-day, you will die by your own weapon. As my father did."

Daniel closed his eyes in defeat and the rest lowered their heads in sorrow. A decision had been made and the verdict was death. Hanno left the room and like an ironic reminder that would usually be heard in films, the bells began to toll and their sound was the most sorrowful one that anybody ever could remember.

_**Stargate Command – New Cheyenne Mountain**_

Hammond was at the window as Sam, Jack, Acre, and Brutus run up the stairs to meet him. Hammond turned toward them and asked, "I'm confused, Captain. Are these people hostiles?"

"Well sir that would depend on your definition of hostiles." Sam answered.

"They have Teal'c prisoner. They plan to execute him. I'd call that hostile." Jack intervened.

"But it sounds to me as if they've treated the rest of you with the utmost respect. Now you want to launch an assault on them?" Hammond pointed out.

"No, sir. We're hoping once they see our superior numbers and firepower, they'll release him without incident." Acre said.

Hammond looked toward the Sangheili before turning to Jack. "Colonel, the United States is not in the business of interfering in other people's affairs." The four members all shared a look with each other before facing Hammond again.

"Since when, sir?" Brutus asked.

"Since this administration was elected." Hammond answered.

"Well, I don't think the president or the high council would have a problem with us going in and trying to rescue one of our own." Jack said.

"Teal'c is not one of our own." Hammond bluntly put it.

"He's not?" The four members asked at the same time before looking at each other in confusion and then turning their heads to Hammond for the answer.

"I mean in the eyes of the government. He's not an Earth citizen. Hell, he's not even a Federation citizen. He doesn't even have refugee status. He is merely an illegal immigrant that the government tolerated because he had information about the enemy and was beneficial in the war against the Goa'uld."

"I don't believe I'm hearing this from you, sir!" Jack said shocked.

Hammond appeared to be "biting his tongue" to hold back a retort.

"General Hammond, sir, if I may." Sam stepped up, "Even setting aside that Teal'c is our friend, how can you let such a valuable information resource be taken away? You said so yourself. He is an asset in the war against the Goa'uld."

"These people's laws in this regard are no different from our own. We don't stop pursuing war criminals because they have a change of heart." Hammond supplied.

"War criminals!" Jack was even more angry now.

"Yes, Colonel, he is. Like it or not, what the Jaffa have done to these people and thousands of other people is a crime. Now Teal'c spent many years serving the Goa'uld doing some damned distasteful things. Surely both of you must realize that this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Our entire species have murdered billions of your kind yet when the Great War ended, you joined us in the Caelum Federation. Isn't that a paradoxical thing to say." Acre pointed out.

"Your species and the others in the Federation apologized and even helped in the rebuilding of the UNSC and her colonies. Were it not for all the supplies and credits you gave us as well as personally volunteering in some of the rebuilding work yourselves, then we would have charged your people with war crimes and demanded that the leaders in your government and military handed over to us for trial. There is also the fact that the majority of the old Covenant government was either killed in the war or joined the Separatists. The Covenant itself and the Loyalists were blindly following a lie that the hierarchs created and according to our laws, you couldn't be considered guilty if you were being misled. There is hardly anyone left to charge with war crimes left in the Caelum Federation anyway so it's a moot point."

"General Hammond," Jack brought the general back to him and continued, "I have spent a lot of years in the service of my world, my species, and I have been ordered to do some damned distasteful things. I will not allow them to execute my friend."

"Sir, Teal'c has proven his loyalty to us countless times. Don't you think we should do the same?" Brutus said.

"My own personal opinion says yes. But the government policies under which I must weigh my decisions, say no." Hammond finalized.

"Well fine, let's call the president!" Jack instantly yelled out.

"That's enough, Colonel!" Hammond ordered.

"General, sir, we don't have a lot of time here." Sam said.

"Right. All of you, wait here. I'll alert the high council and the president and see what I can do." With that, General Hammond walked into his office and began dialing the number on his phone while the others waited outside for the answer to their question.

_**Teal'c's cell – Great Hall – Cartago**_

Daniel, Erik, Carth, and Debaq moved into the cell room where they saw two women paint markings across Teal'c's body.

"What are they doing?" Daniel asked.

"Preparing me for my death." Teal'c answered back.

"Oh." Daniel said in realization.

"I would like to ask one final favor." Teal'c asked after a couple of seconds passed between them."

"What is it?"

"I would like to volunteer my lifeless body, and that of my symbiote, for your scientists to study. Perhaps you can better learn ways to battle the Goa'uld and the Jaffa."

"Well, don't worry, Teal'c, there's not going to be any body to donate. Jack and Carter should be back any minute with the troops."

"Daniel Jackson. You must not allow Colonel O'Neill to deny the retribution the Byrsa deserve."

"You know I have to admit, Teal'c, for once I agree with Jack. I mean, I respect your wishes, but I don't believe that you deserve to die."

Teal'c didn't answer for all anyone could see was that is faced with marked with tears as the moment of his death slowly approached and the thought of it weighed heavily on his mind.

_**SGC Conference Room – New Cheyenne Mountain**_

Sam and Jack were pacing while Acre and Brutus were twiddling their fingers and waiting for what seemed like an eternity. All anybody wanted was for the torture to end and the answer to be given. Finally Hammond came into the room and everybody turned to face him as he entered.

"I'm sorry, Colonel," Hammond began, "the president won't authorize a rescue."

"I don't believe it." Jack said but deep down he already had accepted it.

"What?" Sam asked, completely shocked that they would allow an important asset like Teal'c get killed. The other two merely hung their heads in sorrowful contemplation.

"I agree with the president's decision. We can't commit troops to risk their lives in an action that I believe is morally ambiguous." Hammond put it as honestly as possible.

"That's where I respectfully disagree, sir." Jack said bluntly.

"You have the right to disagree, Colonel, but you do not have the right to take actions against orders, is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. I'll allow you to go back to the planet to say goodbye. Tell Teal'c, good luck." With that both sides left the conference room. Hammond to go back to his office to continue on daily reports and SG-1 plus Demon Squad for the armory and eventually the gate room.

_**Cartago**_

Sam, Jack, Acre, and Brutus arrived through the stargate and looked around in shock. The area looked pretty messed up with fires burning, and carts overturned. The same thought came to the four immediately. _"Cartago was attacked."_

"Things look a little different to you?" Jack flippantly said trying to lighten the mood.

Talking was heard, and the four ran to hide as the voices came closer to the gate area. After a few seconds, people came around the corner being led by serpent guards. Sam peeked around a wall before turning back to the other three members. Jack motioned for the others to move. They nod and run down the hall as they followed Jack to Teal'c's cell. After moving down several corridors and a flight of stairs, they arrived in the cell room. The cells door were open and the cells themselves were empty.

"Byrsa must have taken Teal'c and the others with them." Acre said.

"Let's hope it was the Byrsa." Brutus replied.

"Maybe they broke Teal'c out." Sam pointed out.

"Keep those positive thoughts comin', guys, Captain. Let's go." Jack whispered.

They ran up the stairs, and to the door and as they rounded one of the corners that led back out to the courtyard they heard talking.

"Let's Go!" A voice ordered.

Serpent guards were lining up villagers. The four moved behind the columns surrounding the courtyard. As they whispered about how to take out the guards, a serpent guard heard them, and turned toward them or rather the area where he heard the voices. The serpent guard saw Sam's gun and the shadows of the four people on a wall, and thinking they were more Byrsa, started to shoot at the column that Sam was hiding behind, making her run past Jack. The Jaffa saw this and pursued her, not realizing the Jack was hiding behind the column. Jack tripped the Jaffa and got over him and with little sound, drew his knife. The knife went down and the serpent guard spasmed before becoming still. Sam ran up to him, and handed Jack the Jaffa's staff weapon. After taking care of the other guard with a well-placed shot and getting the villagers to flee, the group headed back into the rest of the village to search for their missing friends. Meanwhile, hidden behind one the walls in the courtroom, a group of villagers hid for fear of the Goa'uld.

"Now O'Neill has proved to me not only where his loyalties lie but yours as well." Hanno angrily said to Teal'c.

"If you believe that it was O'Neill that informed the Goa'uld, you are mistaken." Teal'c pointed out.

"Then how is it that they know our escape routes?" Hanno asked.

"What?" Daniel asked a little shocked.

"We are trapped. Cut off from the hidings." Hanno pointed out.

"But Jack went back to Earth. The Goa'uld are not stupid. They probably figured it out on their own after years of experience with your people." Erik said.

"The children and the slowest will hide here. The rest of us will try to draw them away into the forest." Hanno said.

"Wait. Now let Teal'c go. We can help you but he is no good to you like this. Now I give you my word he will not try to run away." Daniel said.

"No he will not. You will stay here." Hanno said before turning to a small boy and ordering, "If I do not survive, I entrust you to tell whoever does that I still wish my sentence to be carried out." The boy nodded in understanding and the armed villagers left to draw off the serpent guard.

Jack, Sam, Acre, and Brutus were hiding behind some stalls watching the serpent guard hold the women and some men at the DHD. The armed villagers ran out of the Great Hall shouting to get the Jaffa's attention. The Jaffa turn, and start shooting at the men. The captives fled and Jack shot the Jaffa with the staff weapon he gained earlier. Hanno looked at Jack, surprised to see him back here but before anyone could ask a question an explosion was heard through the area. The sound was that of the door to the meeting hall breaking down as the Jaffa started walking in, surrounding the villagers on all sides.

"Try not the let them see your face in case…" Daniel began before one of the serpent guards came close to the four who didn't fit in with the villagers. The Jaffa lowered his helmet and looked at Teal'c with fire in his eyes.

"Teal'c." The Jaffa said with as much venom as one could muster.

"Shak'l." Teal'c spat back.

As the two stared each other down, the child that Hanno was talking to, gave Teal'c a large knife, looking around innocently as if nothing happened. Teal'c began to cut the rope off his hand but turned toward the boy saying, "Go." The boy obeyed without a complaint.

"You have betrayed your god Teal'c. Your death will assure my place as his first prime." Shak'l proudly said. Teal'c had already cut through the rope tying his hands and prepared to stab the offending Jaffa where he stood. As he was pulled up, he grabbed Shak'l's armor but the Jaffa saw it coming and moved to the side so Teal'c ended up stabbing another in the gut. Dropping the dead Jaffa to the ground, Teal'c grabbed his staff, and shot a nearby Jaffa in the back. People begin screaming as the serpent guard dropped to the ground and Shak'l ran off to safety.

Teal'c accessed the situation. He saw one Jaffa holding a woman in a death lock. Another Jaffa holds another woman in a death lock while his staff was pointed at a group of people crouched over. Teal'c jumps on the Jaffa that has his weapon on the group of people, making him shoot his staff at Teal'c instead, the blast ended up tearing into Teal'c's leg. The other Jaffa released the second woman, and aimed at the fallen Teal'c before a duo of voices shouted, "Hey!" The Jaffa turned his head and ended up being tackled by an angry Unngoy and Kig-Yar who had locked onto the guard's helmet and was thrashing about to get them off. At that point Jack and the others entered the room and shot the two guards as one of them tried to help the other get the aliens off him. With the last two guards dead and Shak'l having fled through the stargate, the villagers hugged each other in joy.

Daniel looked at Teal'c's smoking leg and said, "Oh, looks bad. Let's get him home."

"No." Teal'c said before getting up and walking towards Hanno, handing him his staff.

"It is mid-day. I am prepared to accept my punishment." Teal'c said with dignity.

"Teal'c." Jack said.

Hanno took the weapon, and looked at it. Teal'c stepped onto the podium, holding out his hands, prepared to die as was his punishment. Hanno looked at him and asked, "You would save those who wish to kill you?"

"I would save those who deserve to live." Teal'c said.

"I have made a mistake." Everyone looked surprised as they realized what was beginning to happen. "My memory was faulty. You are not the same man as he who murdered my father."

"I am the one." Teal'c said.

"No. That Jaffa is dead. You have killed him." Hanno turned toward Jack. "We have our own wounded to care for. I suggest you take your friend home." Teal'c appeared to have tears in his eyes again as he realized the great truth that he was alive and free to go home. Erik turned toward Hanno and said, "We can help you defend yourselves."

"We would appreciate that." Hanno said.

As the villagers left, Jack put his hand on Teal'c's shoulder. The team gathers around Teal'c as he cocks his head. Everyone's eyes were misty with emotion. It was a beautiful moment. It was only ruined after a few seconds when Carth asked, "Can I get that hunk of meat now." The next second, a loud, "OW!" reverberated through the halls of the great stone building on Cartago followed by the light-hearted laughter of the two teams.

XXXXX

_**Codex**_

Byrsa: The human inhabitants of Cartago. Most of the inhabitants are descended from ancient Carthaginians but use a mixture of Greek and Latin languages. They have a code of law that strongly relates to laws in the UEG based off of Roman statesmanship and live with medieval styled technology. They were usually hunted by the Goa'uld as their people are considered some of the best slaves in the galaxy and are often used as hosts. To protect themselves, the Byrsa are extremely fast and hide in nearby caves to escape the Goa'uld when they come through the stargate.

Teal'c of Chulak: Son of Ronac, husband to Drey'auc, and father to Rya'c. Teal'c was formerly first prime of Apophis and committed many unspeakable acts for the Goa'uld, but after SG-1 and Demon Squad came to Chulak, Teal'c abandoned his post and home to start the Jaffa Rebellion by helping Stargate Command to fight against the Goa'uld. His hope is to free his brethren from enslavement and tyranny and destroy the Goa'uld forever. He is considered one of the wisest and bravest of the Jaffa and often wishes the best for his kind.

Shak'l of Chulak: Once a friend of Teal'c's, Shak'l was angered by Teal'c's betrayal of Apophis and believes that his death or capture will allow him to gain prestige and power. He is considered extremely cunning and adaptable but will not hesitate to flee if he knows that cards are stacked against him.

**XXXXX**

**So sorry, it's been almost a month. I tried to make the chapter longer than what I have originally been putting on and as a result, I took a long time to get this done. My job and college are both cutting into my time here so it's hard to update these days. I hope you all understand. If I don't contact you again soon, then let it be known that I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day. See you soon hopefully.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Right, I'm now going through the character developments of SG-1 mainly because I will do this with the main characters of each different series within each story and then I'm doing focusing on my oc characters later on in the story or series depending. But, I won't make them like unknowns entirely. I'll add some personalities of sort later on just don't know when. Sam, stop playing with that we don't know what may happen if you combine that element with naquadah.**

**Sam: We might create a new element.**

**With the yield of several dozen naquadah bombs!**

**Sam: Don't worry. It's under control.**

**Sam adds a few pieces of mystery element with naquadah. The sample starts glowing before the world is suddenly engulfed in light.**

…

**Please come back later, we are currently experiencing technical difficulties.**

**XXXXX**

_**The Stargate on planet **__**designated as **__**P8X-987**____**also called Hanka**_

As it had earlier before, the stargate spun around, its outer layer occasionally stopping to allow the symbols to match with the lights which slowly appeared on around the ring until the last symbol slid into place. The ring stopped before the familiar whooshing sound occurred and a cloud appearing to be bubbles burst out before settling back into the event horizon. A few moments later, SG-1 followed by Demon Squad had stepped through the gate and were getting a good look at the planet the locals called Hanka. It looked like any other world once inhabited by the Goa'uld. There were fields of local vegetables and herbs growing and some trees that looked like they were about to bear fruit nearby. Off in the distance however was an observatory, a quickly built one if anybody asked, and that was why the team came to Hanka. As they moved down the steps and the gate shut off Acre was the first to say something.

"So, what exactly are we going to see after this eclipse begins? I mean, it is black, and it is a hole…" He paused as he didn't know how else to describe the spatial anomaly the team had come to see.

"Well, it might be a black hole." Carth quipped which earned him a punch on the arm from Debaq.

"Okay. Let's put that a different way." Brutus butted in.

Carter meanwhile was laughing at what was going on before gathering it together and after she had settled down she supplied, "No Acre, you're right. You can't exactly see it, not the singularity itself. It's so massive, not even light can escape it. But, during the totality phase of the eclipse, you should be able to see matter spiraling towards it."

"Actually, it's called the accretion disk." Jack pointed out and Erik started to smile cause he knew what was coming next and it was going to make him laugh.

"Well, I guess it's easy enough to understand why the local population would be afraid of something like this…" Daniel started to say before doing a double take and looking at O'Neill like he just sprouted wings and another pair of arms. "What did you just say?" Erik started laughing.

"It's just an astronomical term." Jack said offhanded like it was nothing while Daniel still stared at him in disbelief.

"You didn't think the Colonel had a telescope on his roof just to look at the neighbors, did you? Erik said as he slowly began to breath regularly again.

Jack drew in breath and looked thoughtful before saying, "Not initially." Which sent Erik into another laughing fit.

As the teams moved forward toward the observatory in the distance they passed by a green sign that had been placed near the stargate that read: "Welcome to Hanka" and listed the importance of Earth's interest in the planet. They walked by down the dirt road and as they slowly continued on everyone realized something.

"Someone from SG-7 should have been here to greet us." Debaq pointed out.

"They should be prepping the telescope for the big show." Jack replied to the little Unngoy but even was a little troubled on the lack of a welcome party. As they continued walking forward, the team members spotted a basket, then a body lying face-down at the side of the road. They rushed to the body. When they got to it, Jack turned it over, revealing an obviously dead man with sores on his exposed skin. They all drew back in reaction.

"Oh, God." Jack moaned. "All right, MOPP 2 everybody." Everybody instantly put on masks or started filtering their oxygen supply to a greater extent. The only ones who didn't have to put on masks were Teal'c because of his symbiote and Debaq cause of the helium gas mask he wore. Apparently most diseases that existed in oxygen-nitrogen environments didn't affect the helium breathers in any way and vice versa. Jack first broke a sealed packet and started scrubbing his hands with an orange disinfectant towel to get rid of any germs before donning his own mask.

After he was done he said, "Daniel, you, Teal'c, Carth, and Debaq check the village. See why no one's missed this guy and where everyone else is. We've got the observatory. All right, move out!

The teams split up and headed in their respective directions and after a few minutes of travel Sam, Jack, Erik, Brutus, and Acre all arrived at the observatory. They entered and looked around the room they just entered and saw that there was nobody around. The room was just filled with computers and terminals but not a single person was in sight. It was as if everybody disappeared into thin air.

"Where is everyone?" Erik asked out loud.

Everyone just stared at each other, unable to come up with an answer until Jack and Sam opened up a door that led into the barracks area of the observatory where everyone usually slept, ate, or hanged out. Of course when they opened the doors, all they saw was the bodies of SG-7, lying in various positions in the bunks and on the floor. The exposed skin of all of the men was covered with sores just like the villager that Jack found.

"Found 'em." Jack nonchalantly pointed out.

"My God." Sam said to fill in the shock for everyone.

"Jack! JACK!" Distant yelling was heard before Daniel charged in with the rest of SG-1 and Demon Squad. He stopped in front of the two in the barracks after barreling through the door.

"They're all dead. Everyone." Daniel said with melancholy and slight shock lacing his voice.

_**A few hours later**_

A glass decontamination chamber had been set up between the outside and the inside at the doors. SG-1 and Demon Squad were standing inside the chamber. A blast of steam and chemical solution washed over them as they moved through. Brutus was whining as he didn't want the chemicals to get stuck on his fur. Carth tried to lure him with the promise of tasty treats and when Brutus had still refused, Carth had whacked him over the head with a rock. Brutus was still lollygagging like a drunkard while being led by Acre and Erik through the door. Inside, Dr. Frasier and two aides were waiting for SG-1 and Demon Squad to finish their decontamination and enter the main room.

"This complex has been totally decontaminated. How many dead?" Frasier asked after the two teams finally got through.

"We estimate about a thousand." Carter replied. More SG teams had come through the stargate once the SGC had been alerted.

"Why didn't they send a message, some warning this was happening?" Frasier was confused.

"We don't know." Jack answered for her.

"Looks like all this happened very quickly." Daniel pointed out.

"They wouldn't have been able to contact the SGC if the disease was fast acting." Acre supplied.

"While this is all very interesting, there may still be survivors out there. Shouldn't we be looking for them?" Erik said. Everyone instantly began to go out before Frasier stood in both team's way.

"No. Not until I examine you. We'll use the barracks room. Colonel, you said that you touched one of the victims before putting on gloves?" Frasier said.

"Yeah, but I washed my hands right away." Jack started to pout.

"No. You're first." Frasier ordered.

Daniel suddenly sneezed. Everyone stopped and looked at him as if he was suddenly going to get the plague right then and there. Carth was standing next to him and even backed off a few steps.

"Allergies, right?" Jack said before turning to Frasier. "Right?"

"Right." Frasier said.

"_She didn't believe it."_ Carth thought with a small amount glee before Frasier turned to face him and he realized that he was next on the chopping block.

_**One hour later**_

SG-1 and Demon Squad was walking down a dirt road, Jack, Daniel and Sam were clad in yellow biohazard suits and Teal'c was in his regular uniform thanks to the protection provided to him by his symbiote. Demon Squad had their helmets changed so that they could breathe the filtered atmosphere except for Erik and Debaq who already had their helmet and rebreather on respectively.

"We're supposed to tag the bodies we find with these." Sam said over the radio in their suits. She and Jack began to hand out tags to everyone around.

"They knew this would happen." Daniel said in a half trance to himself.

"The indigenous people?" Acre asked skeptically.

"They told me when we came here three months ago that with the darkness would come the apocalypse. It was part of their mythology. But what do we tell them? That it's just an eclipse, and there's nothing to worry about." Daniel sounded guilty.

Several bodies laid on the edge of a field and in the road. Everybody started to tag the bodies lying around. Sam clipped one tag on the body of a teenage boy before turning away to tag another. But while her back was turned, something moved in the thick underbrush, and a small hand reached out and pulled off the tag, then ran away. Sam turned around in curiosity and while the small figure can barely be seen moving through the brush, Sam spotted it.

"Hello? Hello, it's okay. You can come out. Look, I know I must look pretty scary in the mask, but I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay." Sam called out to the person before turning to Jack and saying, "Colonel, there's someone in the bushes and they won't come out."

"Show 'em your face." Jack said to Teal'c which Teal'c responded to by scowling.

"Not that face." Debaq said.

"Try to look friendly." Brutus put in before showing his own smile which instead of looking friendly said, '_I'm going to have you for dinner and you're the main course.'_ with rows of serrated teeth gleaming. Carth ran behind Erik in fear while the Spartan shook his head in annoyance.

Teal'c walked into the field. He spotted the creature hiding in the trees. "We will not hurt you. Please come out." He called and held out his hand. "Take my hand." A small hand hesitantly reached out and took Teal'c's hand. Teal'c smiled a nice, gentle smile before saying, "It is okay." and proceeding to lead a young girl back to the other members of SG-1 and Demon Squad. They shared concerned glances at each other before hurrying back to the observatory with the girl in tow.

_**Several minutes later – Observatory Barracks**_

The girl who Erik affectionately named Cassandra, or Cass for short, sat on an examination table, her face blank. Dr. Frasier and Same were examining her. Both wore cloth masks over their mouths and noses to keep any germs out.

"It's okay. Don't worry; everything's going to be fine. Can you hear me? You're very brave." Sam kept saying to Cass before turning to Janet and saying, "Can I take this mask off?"

"I think that'll be okay. Looks like we're dealing with a bacterial infection. Just don't get too close." Janet warned.

Sam pulled her off mask and smiled. "There, that's better, huh? You feel like telling me your name now?" All she got was a blank star from Cassandra, who then deliberately looked away.  
"That's okay. You remember my name? Samantha Carter. But you can call me Sam." Sam said.

Cassandra hooked the tag she took off the dead boy onto her hospital gown as if she were responding to Sam's attempts to talk.

"Oh no, no honey. You're not going to die. Why don't you just lie down and rest for a while, okay? Okay." Sam hurriedly said.

Cassandra obediently lied down, tightly clutching the tag. Sam reached out and tried to pull it out of her hand. Cassandra pulled back, refusing to let it go. Sam sighed and gave up, patting the girl on the head instead. From across the room, Janet's voice murmured, "This can't be."

Sam started walking over to her and asked with worry lacing her voice, "She's infected, isn't she?"

"No, she's not." Janet answered back.

"Well, what's wrong with her?" Sam asked again now that she was completely confused.

"Three are traces of the element the Stargate is made of in her blood." Janet answered just as confused as Sam.

"Naquadah?"

"Yes. Now, it's possible that's the reason she was able to resist the infection." Janet then turned toward to a technician, who gave her a folder, "Thank you. Here, take a look." before handing the folder to Carter.

Sam and Janet walked down the hall to the larger room. Daniel, Jack, Teal'c, and the rest of Demon Squad were waiting.

"Well, I have some bad news. The samples my team collected show the entire area to be contaminated. It's in the water and the ground. Now, the bacteria don't seem to be airborne, but it has the unique ability to survive in a variety of environments." Janet said before Carth raised his hand.

"Listen, um…I hate to sound self-centered here, but…" Carth started.

"Your tests are fine." Janet answered and Carth lowered his hand.

"What of the girl?" Erik asked.

"No sign of infection and as a precaution I did an ultrasound to make sure she wasn't parasitically infested with a Goa'uld." Sam answered.

"So, she goes back with us." Jack said.

"Doctor, would it be safe for someone to stay a little while longer? I mean, we're safe right now, right?" Sam turned to Janet.

"Captain?" Jack questioned with the look in his eye that said 'what are you doing?'

"Jack, the eclipse happens in less than one day. This is our only opportunity to use this window of darkness to photograph the black hole with this telescope. It could change the course of history. I don't want to belittle what's happened here, but if we just pack up and leave, SG-7 and all these people will have died for nothing." Acre pointed out.

Cassandra walked in and grabbed Sam's arm, hiding behind her to peek out at the male members of SG-1 and Demon Squad.

"She is adorable." Carth said. "I feel like giving her a big hug." Carth was smiling a shark-tooth filled smile.

"Not on your life!" Debaq quipped and held Carth down to prevent him from getting close to the girl.

"Well, you won't be staying and you two definitely won't stay." Jack said to Sam before turning to Debaq and Carth who were both wrestling on the floor now.

"I will remain. I am not at risk." Teal'c said.

"Yeah, I'll stay too." Jack insisted.

"As will we." Erik, Acre, and Brutus instantly stepped forward.

_**Hanka Stargate – An hour later**_

Several technicians lead the way through the open wormhole. Sam and Daniel approached, with Cass between them, holding their hands and Carth and Debaq were following close behind. All of them were wearing biohazard suits.

Sam bended down to look Cassandra in the eye and said, "Hey, you okay? Don't be afraid, I'll be holding your hand the whole way, all right? I know it looks kinda scary, but it's really a lot of fun." before she stood back up.

"On three. One, two, three." And with that all five members jumped through the gate and emerged on the other side where a small decontamination unit stood at the Gate to clean the travelers and across the room, a glassed chamber stood between the Gate room and the rest of the Stargate complex. After much time and cleaning to keep disease out, the group was able to head down to a room that had been made for Cassandra.

"Well, here we are. This is where you're going to stay for a little while, okay? I know it's nothing fancy, but we'll fix it up." Sam showed the girl. Cass looked around the room, her expression dismayed. Sam led her to the bed where Cass sat down on the edge and Sam crouched in front of her.

"I have to go somewhere for a little while. But I promise you I won't be gone long, okay?"

Cass grabbed Sam's shirt and clenched it tightly in her hand refusing to let Sam go. It was shortly followed by an "Ahhh." which was quickly followed by an "Owww!" from Carth.

No, I…I have to go. But I'll be able to see you the whole time through that camera up there, see?

Sam pointed to the camera, then to her eyes. Cass just looked at her, refusing to relinquish her hold. After some time, Sam gave up and said, "All right. I'll stay for a little while." Sam sat on the bed beside Cass while she clutched Sam's leg and skootched closer. Sam looked uncomfortable, and then put one arm around the girl's shoulder. The rest of the team closed the door behind them, smiling all the time. Before they closed the door all the way Sam mouthed, "You are so dead when I'm free."

_**One hour later – Briefing Room – Stargate Command**_

A monitor showed Sam with Cass in her little cell. The room was now decorated with posters and pictures tacked to the wall. A small table and chairs had been added, with flowers on the table. An easel stood in the corner, and the bed was covered with a pink comforter decorated with bears. Cass was seated at the table, drawing another picture with crayons.

Hammond looked up from monitor and pointed out, "She seems to have bonded with Captain Carter."

"I can't blame her for being terrified. Believe me; it was not pretty over there." Daniel said.

"What happened?" Hammond sat down and looked at the small assembly.

Janet answered, "We counted 1,432 dead. I believe we may be indirectly responsible."

"How?" Hammond asked.

"It's possible someone from Earth brought some normally harmless bacteria to that planet. It learned some new traits from a local organism and mutated into the most deadly infectious strain I've ever encountered."

"Are you absolutely positive you haven't brought any of this disease back here with you?"

"Yes, sir. In fact, I think we may have brought back the cure."

"Doctor?"

"Sir, somehow this little girl survived against all odds on a completely contaminated planet. Now, I'm hoping she has some sort of natural immunity that we might use in fighting other serious infections already here on Earth."

"Why didn't the telescope team report that this outbreak was going on?"

"We don't know." Daniel answered this time.

"All we do know is that the disease acted much like the sweating sickness that disappeared from Earth during the 14th century. People who were infected didn't know they were until they dropped dead in the streets. It's possible SG-7 and the villagers didn't know they were sick until they were already near death." Carth supplied.

"Let's hope that this girl truly is safe. If there is something wrong with her then she is potentially dangerous to everyone around her and has to stay on base indefinitely." Debaq ended.

_**Hanka Observatory**_

Jack was sitting on the telescope ladder; Teal'c was in an office chair; Acre was hanging upside down from a beam overhead; Brutus was planking on a cabinet that had been nearby; Erik was bouncing a rubber ball off the wall. It was an extreme understatement to say that they were all bored.

"This is fun." Jack pointed out before he looked at his watch and said, "Only eight hours to go. Sweet."

"I'm going to go insane!" Erik complained.

"Quick! Tackle him!" Brutus cried out as both he and Acre took Erik to the ground. Both saw what happened when Erik became too bored. They did not want it to happen again especially after the great That-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Mentioned-Ever-Again of 2550. (Let's just say it involved a very giddy – almost insane – Spartan getting a Wraith tank stuck on the highest mountain on Sangheilios, upside down, while it was on fire, after using it as a rocket to launch it there.)

"I still do not understand this black hole." Teal'c stated to Jack after turning away from the wrestling competition between the Spartan, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae.

"Well, a black hole is…is really big, thing. It's uh…But basically it's a massive hole. Out there." Jack supplied.

"I see."

"Ah, and…what happens is, everything gets sucked into it, even light. That's why we can't see it. It just gets…sucked in."

"Thank you."

"Sure."

"Get off me you two!" Erik cried out as both Acre and Brutus continued to hold him down.

_**Several hours later – Stargate Command Infirmary**_

Things had grown worse here. Cassandra had finally talked to someone but had been taken to the infirmary because of a pain in her chest. She ended up coding and Janet and Sam had heard something metallic in her chest. Now Janet had put up and X-ray of Cass's chest.

"There's some kind of small round object embedded in her heart, with tendrils branching out." Hammond, Daniel, Sam, Carth, Debaq, and Janet all stood there, looking at it.

"Oh my God." Sam exclaimed.

"What is it?" Hammond asked.

"I don't know, but it wasn't there ten hours ago." Janet answered. Everyone moved out of the room through the corridors as Janet began to explain everything.

"Whatever this object is, it has the ability to stop her heart in an instant."

"Can you remove it?"

"No. It doesn't look like it. Not without killing her. Now, Dr. Warner managed to get us some samples. I'm hoping the results of the analysis will tell us more about what this object is."

"Thank you Doctor."

_**Hanka**_

The singularity was starting and Jack let it known to everyone by exclaiming, "It's showtime!" before climbing to the telescope and readying it. Brutus merely lay still muttering, "Just ten more minutes mom." Acre and Erik looked at each other and gave an evil grin before getting close to Brutus and dumping two buckets of cold water on him. There was a yelp and ten seconds later a cabinet was thrown against the wall followed by the sound of an angry Jiralhanae yelling, "I'M GOING TO GET YOU BASTARDS AND FLAY YOU ALIVE!"

"Hey!" Jack scolded. "Quite messing around and get ready."

Everybody got to their positions in a few minutes except for Brutus who looked and smelled like a wet dog, and had several towels covering where his fur was exposed and was growling softly at Erik and Acre.

After Brutus sat down Teal'c proceeded to call out, "The systems are online. The eclipse has reached its totality."

Jack said what he always said when he was amazed, "Whoa."

While Jack was looking through the telescope, Teal'c turned toward the others, seeing how he wasn't needed immediately, and said, "May I ask you a question Erik?"

"Of course Teal'c. You can ask anything." Erik replied.

"How was it that you became friends with Acre and the others? Most of the other Tau'ri I've met seemed to show a great dislike toward the former Covenant races, even those working with them."

Everybody instantly felt the temperature in the room drop by several degrees and turned their heads. Teal'c could tell what people were usually feeling by noticing their body language so when he asked the question he immediately noticed Erik's usual cheerfulness suddenly disappear only to be replaced by the type of mask Spartan-II's wore. Teal'c had seen a few of the famous Spartans other than Erik and while several were friendly and amicable, many didn't show any emotion at all. Teal'c also saw the Spartan's shoulders slouch and his back go down a little as if he carried a burden as heavy as several blocks of naquadah.

When Erik finally spoke, his voice had dropped a notch and he merely replied, "It was a bad day. Something I don't exactly want to remember. I…I don't want to talk about it."

Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. He knew when to stop treading through grounds like this. He recognized the expressions Erik was showing and instantly knew one thing. The Spartan was haunted by the specter of death.

"_Most likely someone close to him perished that day, but how does that involve Acre and the others?", _Teal'c thought and has he turned back toward his station he noticed Acre and Brutus carry these sorrowful looks as if they were the cause of the Spartan's discomfort.

"_Best to just leave it for now."_

_**SGC Complex – Bottom floor of the compound**_

Back at the SGC, Sam and Daniel were both looking at the new X-ray showing Cassandra's chest or rather the object inside her chest.

"The layer of fatty tissue between the two sides of the object is decaying. Very slowly, mind you, but still…" Sam was saying before she slowly came to a halt.

"What's the significance?" Daniel asked

"I'm about to do an experiment to find out. One side of the object is made up of a combination of iron and potassium; the other side is made up of the element that makes up the Stargate."

"Wait, what?" Carth suddenly interjected.

"Uh-hm. I'm assuming it's the naquadah that was in her blood. Somehow the object is collecting it." Janet explained.

"Now, potassium can be one of the most volatile alkaline metals on Earth. Combined with even a small concentration of naquadah, and…" Janet left it off there for everyone to think over it.

"That doesn't sound very good." Debaq voiced everyone's thoughts.

The group was at the bottom floor of the SGC compound looking at a monitor that was showing two robot arms in small room.

"The room you're looking at is in the sub-basement floor of the complex. It's lead sealed. Let's see what happens when we put the two objects together." Sam said before she began typing in some commands into the computer.

"Where are the samples?" Daniel asked.

"I'm only using a microscopic particle of each." Sam explained.

The two robot arms began to move closer together and as the two parts touched each other there was a flash of light followed by a…**BOOM** and the monitor screen showed nothing but grey snow.

"The reading's off the scale. Gamma and particle radiation." Janet exclaimed.

"Are we safe?" Carth was beginning to panic.

"Yeah, but we have a big problem." Sam quickly said to calm down the Kig-Yar.

"Well, if two microscopic particles can cause that…" Daniel trailed off.

"Then the object inside Cassandra could cause a nuclear reaction a million times bigger." Debaq finished. He had been on a ship that had seen the destruction of Joyous Exultation during the Great War. It had been far enough away to survive but the devastation caused by the NOVA Bomb had made Debaq slightly scared of preparing anything that would have a big boom unless it was either safe or necessary.

_**Observatory on Hanka**_

Everything was going fine at the observatory. Jack was still sitting at the telescope looking through when he apparently noticed something in the corner and voiced everyone's thoughts in the neat simple way that he had mastered over the years, "What is that?"

"A star, perhaps." Teal'c supplied.

"No", said Erik, "stars aren't usually seen so brightly within a telescope unless they have gone supernova."

"Hit the zoom." Jack said.

"No, it is way too close to be a star. Pull back." Brutus ordered after a few seconds had passed.

Several seconds later everyone's curiosity peaked when Jack asked, "What the hell is that?"

"It is a Goa'uld attack vessel." Teal'c said with such calm that one would have thought this occurred to him every Tuesday. Everyone simply looked at Teal'c before running out of the observatory with everything they needed.

_**SGC Briefing Room**_

General Hammond, Daniel, Sam, Dr. Frasier, Carth, and Debaq plus four officers in dress uniforms were sitting around the briefing table discussing what to do about Cassandra.

"It's a setup. It has to be. The Goa'ulds wiped out every last living person on that planet except Cassandra, and then they made us think that it was our fault; because they knew that we wouldn't leave her there." Daniel began melancholy. "They knew that we would bring her back here. And they used their technology to put that thing inside of her."

"It's like they designed a way for us to help them create the device after she came through the Stargate. So we wouldn't detect it until it was too late." Sam put in her two cents.

"We gave her iron supplements. We may even have turned the device on with a jolt of electricity when we resuscitated her." Dr. Frasier said.

"You're saying it's meant to destroy us?" Hammond questioned.

"At least this complex which is a threat to the Goa'uld; The Stargate." Carth answered.

"They used that little girl like a Trojan Horse." Daniel said.

"Bastards." Debaq muttered

"How long do we have?" Hammond asked.

"One hour and fifty-two minutes." Janet answered.

"You can predict it that accurately?"

The cellular decay of the tissue Dr. Warner sampled appears to be happening like clockwork."

_**SGC Cassandra's Room**_

Cassandra tossed and turned in bed while Sam was watching at the door. Daniel entered behind her with Carth and Debaq in tow. Cassandra coughed in her sleep as the adults watched her.

"How could they do this?" Sam asked to herself more than to the others behind her.

"Well, to the Goa'uld, she's not as we see her. She's a tool. Her death is a very cheap way to get rid of us." Daniel answered.

Sam had tears in her eyes as she replied, "I know I'm supposed to be detached."

Daniel looked at her with concern before stepping up and said, "Who said that?"

Sam's reply was, "Sometimes I forget you're not military."

Carth merely walked up to her and held her hand and said, "No matter what or who you are, never believe that you have to be detached from the people that you care about." He then let go of Sam's hand and the three of them left her with her thoughts.

_**SGC General Hammond's Office**_

Hammond was hanging up the red phone after having just called the High Council about the problem with Sam looking on.

"Look, Sir, I know this decision isn't easy for you." Sam began.

"In fact, the decision is quite easy. The consequences are difficult." Hammond said.

"There has to be another way." Sam begged.

"I've been assured there is absolutely no way to remove the object from the girl without killing her. Therefore, we have no choice. According to Dr. Frasier's measurements, the rate of atomic decay, we have one hour and twenty minutes left. The girl should be prepared to go back through the Stargate."

"I'll take her, Sir."

"Along with SG-4. I want O'Neill and Teal'c to return with you."

_**Hanka**_

Jack was in biohazard suit, Erik in his Mjolnir armor, Acre and Brutus were both in their own airtight armor, and Teal'c were running down the road. Overhead, a pair of Death Gliders started to shoot at them. The blasts come close several times and they throw themselves to the side of the road to get to safety.

"We must get to the Stargate!" Teal'c yelled.

"No argument from me!" Jack yelled above the explosions.

"Who is this Nirrti?" Acre asked.

"This Goa'uld Nirrti, she once sent an emissary of peace to negotiate a treaty concerning a Stargate Apophis had taken control of. The negotiation was a ploy. The Stargate was destroyed."

"How?" Brutus chimed in.

"As soon as he entered the Stargate, there was a massive explosion."

"The girl?" Jack questioned. Teal'c simply nodded and everybody instantly knew the stakes had gotten higher.

"Not on my watch!" Erik exclaimed before tossing Jack over his shoulder and getting everyone to move out toward the gate as fast as possible.

_**Gate Room**_

SG-4 and Sam were dressed in biohazard suits. Sam was holding Cassandra who was also in suit, by the hand waiting for the moment when the gate would open back to Hanka.

_**Hanka**_

Death Gliders are firing at the group as they ran towards the Stargate as if the Devil himself were chasing them.

_**SGC Gate Room**_

"Chevron three, encoded. Chevron four, encoded." The technician called out over the

Cassandra looked up at Sam before her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed to the ground.

"Cassandra?" Sam said in worry as soon as she felt the girl's hold weaken. Janet ran to the gate room to help.

_**Hanka**_

"Take your time, don't hurry." Jack sarcastically called out to Teal'c who was dialing the gate already.

"Yeah, in fact why don't we stay? It's already wonderful enough as it is." Erik joined in.

_**SGC Gate Room**_

Janet ran in, and dropped down at Cassandra's side to check her vitals.

"Chevron five, encoded." The technician called out.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"She's slipped into a coma."

"What?"

"Chevron six, en…" the technician continued before he stopped and looked down at the computer. The wormhole had engaged from the other side.

"Close the iris." General Hammond ordered.

"No need, sir. I'm getting an SG-1 remote signal."

A second later Jack, Teal'c, Erik, Acre, and Brutus came running through the Gate with debris following them. "Get the girl away from the Gate!" Jack called out as soon as he came through. Everybody simply looked at him stunned.

_**SGC Briefing Room**_

"So the Goa'ulds kept SG-7 from coming back through to warn us. All part of the plan." Jack finished.

"So what are we going to do now?" Daniel asked.

"Teal'c; Dr. Frasier says the device inside the girl is on some sort of timer. You're sure it will go off if we send the girl through the Stargate?" Hammond asked.

"We should not attempt it. The Earth Gate is what the Goa'uld wishes to destroy." Teal'c confirmed.

"And we almost helped them succeed." Debaq gloomily pointed out.

"Is Cassandra okay now?" Erik asked.

"Cassandra's condition deteriorated once she got near the Stargate. At the moment she is stuck in a coma and the device inside her seems to have grown in size. Anymore tampering or getting her near the stargate will likely set it off or kill her." Sam answered.

"Well, I can't risk the security of this mountain. We'll have to take her somewhere else."

"What about the abandoned nuclear facility in…" Jack began before trailing off.

"Right. It's just twenty minutes away." Hammond caught on before moving into his office and picking up the phone. "This is Major General Hammond. Get me the Secretary of Defense immediately. Tell him it's a matter of life and death."

_**Road to Abandoned Facility**_

SG-1 and Demon Squad was in back of a military transport, Cassandra being held on Sam's lap. They reach the facility, and various military personnel lead SG-1 and Demon Squad into the building. Sam is carrying a comatose Cassandra. The group walks through several corridors before reaching an elevator.

"I can take her from here now, Captain." Jack said.

"No Sir, that's okay." Sam said. The elevator door opened.

"This elevator goes down thirty floors through solid rock. Takes about three minutes to get to the bottom. That gives you four minutes to start back up." Sam nodded and entered the elevator, still carrying Cassandra. But as the doors closed and the elevator continued down, Cassandra stirred, and then her eyes opened. She looked around the elevator, then at Sam.

"Where are we going?" Cassandra asked.

"Please, go back to sleep." Sam asked with a mix of horror and pleading on her face.

"I'm not tired anymore."

Sam put her down and Cassandra looked up at her.

"Are you crying?"

Sam had tears in her eyes as the elevator reached the bottom. She led Cassandra out into corridor before she opened a heavy door, and led Cassandra into a bare, concrete room. The walls were crumbling. There were a few slabs of concrete jutting out of the wall. Before the facility was abandoned it was used for experimental weapons testing by ONI so it was perfectly safe. Nothing was in there now. Sam put Cassandra on one of the slabs.

"Sit down here and rest for a while, okay? I have to go."

"You promised you'd never leave me alone."

"I'll be back, okay? I'll be back." Sam brushed back Cassandra's hair before continuing, "You're very brave, remember?"

"I'm very brave."

"I have to close the door."

Cassandra nodded in understanding and Sam simply began to walk out of the room. As Sam reached the door, she turned around and looked at this innocent girl and with one last push, swung the door shut. But before it shut all the way, Cassandra stood up and called out, "Sam?" The door clicked shut but Cassandra's muffled cries still came through. Sam leaned against the door, crying, then ran into the elevator and pressed the button to go up. She hit the walls, kicked them, then slid to the ground, sobbing. She suddenly stopped, pulled herself up, and changed the direction of the elevator.

_**Upper Level of the Facility**_

Daniel and Erik were the only ones still watching the elevator panel, so they were the only ones to see the numbers change.

"Jack, she's going back down." Daniel said.

"The hell she is." Jack sprang into action and tapped the radio button by the elevator. "Captain Carter? Captain Carter."

_**Lower Level of the Facility**_

Sam opened the door and joined Cassandra in the room even as Jack's voice floated through the speaker, "Sam, do you read me?"

"Colonel, I'm staying."

_**Upper Level of the Facility**_

"Negative." Jack said.

"Colonel, she's awake."

"Oh, God." Debaq said in horror.

_**Lower Level of the Facility**_

Sam pulled the door shut and turned the lock even as Jack commanded, "Captain Carter, I am ordering you to get back up here, right now. Right now." But it was ignored as Sam rushed over and hugged Cassandra.

"Are we going to die?" Cassandra asked.

"No, we are not going to die." Sam lied.

_**Upper Level of the Facility**_

"All right, why don't you guys clear out?" Jack half-ordered. Everybody exchanged a look, and then turned back to Jack.

"Right." Jack understood.

_**Lower Level of the Facility**_

Sam and Cassandra were holding onto each other as tightly as mother might hold onto her child.

"We're both very brave. I love you." Cassandra said to Sam.

"I love you too." Sam replied with tears in her eyes.

_**Upper Level of the Facility**_

Jack was watching the seconds count down on his watch, "All right, here we go. Three…two…one…" Jack trailed off and listened as his watch reached zero. Nothing seemed to happen.

"I don't feel anything." Acre pointed out.

"We could have been wrong about the time." Brutus supplied.

"We could have been wrong about what would happen." Carth said.

Jack pressed the intercom and said, "Captain Carter? Can you hear me? Sam, can you hear me?"

_**Lower and Upper Levels of the Facility**_

"We're okay. Nothing happened. Cassandra's fine, I'm fine. It didn't happen. I just…I couldn't leave her Sir." Sam had strolled over to the intercom in a hurried joy.

"How did you know, Captain?" Jack asked through the intercom.

"It occurred to me that she first slipped into the coma when we brought her closer to the Stargate. As soon as we got her far enough away from the Stargate, she woke up. And I…knew."

"You knew?"

"A mother's intuition perhaps." Erik answered. It didn't matter at the moment as everybody was now celebrating. Daniel had punched Teal'c in the arm out of pure excitement while Teal'c just looked at him like he was nuts. Demon Squad was quite literally dancing, jumping, and shouting with joy. Sam in the lower level had crossed the room to Cassandra, who jumped up and wrapped her legs around Sam's waist. They hugged again even as the elevator doors opened to lead them back to the outside world.

_**Park on Earth**_

Daniel and Sam were swinging Cassandra between them while Teal'c and Demon Squad were following behind them. Everyone was dressed in civilian clothing for the occasion.

"You're getting a little heavy for this." Daniel said to Cass.

Jack's voice called from across park, where he was carrying a dog, "Cassandra!"

"Hey, there he is." Sam put Cass down and pointed to Jack. Cass ran over and stopped in front of him and asked, "What's that?"

"We have a rule here on Earth. Every kid has got to have a dog. This is a dog. And he's yours."

Jack handed the dog to Cass even while the rest of SG-1 and Demon Squad watched on from a picnic table, watching Jack and Cassandra interact.

"So, how sure were you really?" Acre asked.

"I can't explain it, Acre; I just knew."

"Definitely a mother's instinct." Teal'c supplied.

"Subtle, but no. Dr. Frasier is going to take her until we can find qualified parents."

"By qualified, you mean ones with the right security clearance." Daniel said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Frasier wants to keep her for herself. As long as Cassandra's happy."

"She appears to be."

"You could adopt her Erik." Carth joked.

Erik simply stared at Carth like he was crazy before saying, "No offence but I think she is still terrified of the fact that I'm taller than the average human. Plus, I don't know anything about how to take care of kids."

"What, Spartan training didn't include how to raise a child lessons?" Carth said before Erik lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"Will she be alright?" Brutus asked pointing at the girl.

"And I wasn't completely at ease until I learned the object was shrinking and being reabsorbed into her system. She should be fine as long as she doesn't go near the stargate." By this time, Cassandra was coming over, carrying the dog Jack had been holding. "Hey!"

"Hey Samantha. See my new dog?" Cass said with all the interest of a child who was happy to show off their new pet.

"Wow. Your new dog?"

"It's an Earth rule. Every kid has to have one. But I don't mind."

Everybody raised their eyebrows and looked at Jack who promptly turned to Cass and said, "Why don't I take the dog for a little walk." Upon which he took the dog out of Cassandra's arms and said, "C'mere. Teal'c? You know anything about dogs?"

"Nothing." Teal'c answered.

Jack gestured, and everybody got up and followed him away from Sam and Cassandra.

"When you find me a new home, will you come and visit me?"

"You betcha. All the time."

"That is, when you're on Earth."

"Right. Now, about that Cassandra…"

"I know. I can't tell anyone I'm from another world; and I was born in a place called…Toronto?"

"Right." Sam answered and shared a smile with Cass. A smile of complete understanding. After which Cass looked across the park at a swing set and asked, "What are those?"

"Ah. Those are swings."

"I never had any of those…in Toronto. They look like fun."

"They are. Come on." And the two headed over to the swings where they would continue to have fun for a long while.

XXXXX

_**Codex**_

SG-1: Comprised currently of Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c. They are the flagship team of Stargate Command and are often considered to be the best in the entire program. They have a tendency to do things outside of the chain of command if necessary or end up in wacky adventures with their lives or others at stake.

Major General Hammond: General Hammond is currently the leader of Stargate Command is known to be one of the most compassionate military leaders in the UNSC besides people like Jacob Keyes, his daughter Miranda, and Lord Hood to name a few. During the Human-Covenant War he personally led a group of ODST's during the Battle of Earth in New York City. After the war's end he personally supported the Federation and hoped that peaceful coexistence was possible. He has often found himself to be tied between his personal feelings and the regulations he has to follow but when he can, he will break the rules for good reasons.

Hanka: A planet long abandoned by the Goa'uld, Hanka was currently going through its own Iron Age when teams from Stargate Command arrived. The people of Hanka were kind enough to allow them to build an observatory to watch the stars but warned them that a danger might be approaching. Unknown to the SGC, the planet was actually a testing ground for the Goa'uld Nirrti's experiments. It is currently depopulated of all life and is now under recommendations for colonization by the UNSC.

Nirrti: The Goa'uld Nirrti is one of the System Lords and one of the worst in the eyes of the UNSC. Unlike other Goa'uld, Nirrti is fascinated by objects and ideas of scientific work. She uses humans as guinea pigs to test out her latest drugs, weapons, devices, everything. She doesn't care who gets killed as long as she gets results that help her gain an advantage over the Goa'uld.

**XXXXX**

**Right, again sorry it took so long. A mixture of work, college, and sudden apathy/procrastination all worked against me and made this chapter a long one to work on. I'll now be able to work more on my story now considering that college for me is over. Also I'm counting on you all to nag me to death. Studies on this website have shown that the more comments and reviews one gets, the faster they will work especially if you all tell me to hurry up. Do that for me and chapters will come out faster. Thanks and Happy St. Patrick's Day, Happy Easter, and Happy Memorial Day. See you all soon and seriously nag me to oblivion and back just to get this series done.**


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